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If you're looking for a play to support Mike Tomlin's belief that the Bills were the more physical team on Sunday night, you don't have to look any further than the game's opening kickoff. 

Tyler Matakevich, a former Steeler, started the game with a crunching tackle of Ray-Ray McCloud inside Pittsburgh's 10-yard-line. The opening kickoff symbolized what type of game it would be for both teams, as Tomlin said Tuesday that the Bills' physical dominance was the biggest thing that jumped out during film review. 

"I thought in all elements of play, they were the more physical group," said Tomlin, whose team fell to 11-2 after losing in Buffalo, 26-15. "They're a physical football team in general, and so they're capable of that. But for us, regardless of circumstance, we don't want to make that comment. But that comment is true as it pertains to that matchup. We've got to be accountable to that, and we are. We've got to make sure that we're not saying that moving forward. There haven't been a lot of situations where we can say that, but definitely, I thought they were the most physical group."

Tomlin said that the physicality wasn't just on the line of scrimmage, even though the Bills dominated that facet of the game. Along with Buffalo's special teams units, Tomlin lauded the Bills' secondary for their physical presence against Pittsburgh's receivers. He also praised Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who bullied the Steelers' secondary to the tune of 10 catches for 130 yards and a touchdown. 

"It is disappointing," Tomlin said, "but part of fixing it is first acknowledging it … We're excited about what this week holds for us."

While the Steelers will look to display more physicality against the Bengals on Monday night, they will also continue to improve their running game, as Pittsburgh has rushed for just 68, 21 and 47 yards in its last three games. 

"Our focus hasn't changed there," Tomlin said about his team's desire to improve the running game. "We're several weeks into a focus there and will continue to work. We haven't necessarily seen the fruit of that work yet, and some of that can be traced to some of the short weeks we've had. We acknowledge that, and that's why we're excited about working this week in continuing with our emphasis there in an effort to get that product to look the way we need it to look, and round out our offensive attack and allow it be more fluid and productive."

As far as the rest of the offense is concerned, the Steelers have been plagued by a slew of drops over the last three weeks. One of the main culprits has been second-year receiver Diontae Johnson, who was temporarily replaced in the lineup by James Washington after dropping a pass during Sunday's game. 

"I thought he responded appropriately," Tomlin said of Johnson, who, despite his drops, leads the Steelers with 694 receiving yards. "He didn't pout, he waited for his next opportunity, and when his next opportunity came, he was productive, so we'll move forward."

While he believes that his team's lack of physicality largely contributed to Sunday night's loss, Tomlin does not believe that JuJu Smith-Schuster dancing on the Bills' logo during pregame contributed to the outcome. Tomlin said he had no knowledge of the situation prior to Tuesday's press conference. 

"I doubt, knowing the group that coaches that team, Sean McDermott, I'm sure they were motivated in all the proper ways," Tomlin said, "and that had very little relevance in terms of the way that game was played."