TORONTO -- The Steelers and Buffalo Bills staged an exhibition game in Canada last night that looked as if they were playing under the wide-open CFL rules.

The Bills scored touchdowns on their first two drives, and the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger responded by heaving a 40-yard touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes. There was a 95-yard kickoff return by Buffalo's Leodis McKelvin, and a 47-yard bootleg touchdown run by rookie Steelers quarterback Dennis Dixon.

And it did not end until 6-foot-6 rookie receiver Micah Rucker dropped Dixon's 43-yard desperation pass on the final play of the game.

Buffalo ultimately prevailed, 24-21.

The one troubling fact that came out of game for the Steelers (1-1) -- besides allowing that 95-yard touchdown on a kickoff return -- was the play of their first-team defense. They were on the field for three series, and Buffalo drove 67 yards on the first and 90 on the second. Quarterback Trent Edwards ended both drives by throwing touchdown passes to tight end Robert Royal, one for 7 yards and the other for 13.

"We fell short in all phases," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said.

		Steelers Forum Based on the first two preseason games, should the Steelers have any concerns about their run defense? Post your comments in our Steelers Forum.

That's three series in two games for the first-team Steelers defense, which allowed two touchdowns and a field goal. It might be troubling for their coaching staff, although they played mostly straight-up, using none of the exotic defenses they usually would deploy during a regular-season game.

"Yeah," Tomlin acknowledged. "When you're not tackling, you just have to play football."

The Bills averaged 6.1 yards rushing against the Steelers in the first half, and Edwards looked like Jim Kelly, completing 9 of 11 for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

"We weren't at our peak," said Pro Bowl nose tackle Casey Hampton, playing for the first time after coming off the physically unable to perform list Sunday. "They ran the plays we knew were coming, they just were dropping the ball on us."

The Steelers' first-team offense did their best work against Buffalo's second-team defense. After getting shut out on their first two series -- Roethlisberger was intercepted to end the first drive -- he struck back in the second quarter on his 40-yard touchdown pass to Holmes. It was the second scoring pass for the duo in two games.

"Coming into the huddle, Ben told me it's a fly, get back outside,'' said Holmes, who sped past a cornerback to get wide open in the end zone. "He called the play and when I took off, the DB stayed in his backpedal a little too long and that's when I turned on the jets, knowing that he wasn't going to have a chance."

Roethlisberger was 9 of 11, for 142 yards before giving way to newcomer Byron Leftwich (5 of 11, 41 yards).

In the first preseason game, the Philadelphia Eagles marched 70 yards on their opening drive but were stopped at the 10 and settled for a 28-yard field goal.

Buffalo's first drive carried 67 yards on 10 plays and began with a 23-yard pass completion to Lee Evans.

As they did in their first game, the Steelers' first-team offense also moved readily, but a crucial holding penalty and then an interception snuffed out their scoring chance.

A false start helped to ruin their second drive.

The Bills' second drive looked a lot like their first, only this one was longer. They moved 90 yards on 11 plays. A crucial mistake occurred when the Steelers had them pinned back on their 7 on third down with 12 to go. Edwards was nearly sacked near the goal line, stepped up and ran through a wide-open field for 22 yards and a first down.

Buffalo's second touchdown came on another third down when Edwards passed to tight end Royal on the right and he broke through Clark and Foote for a 13-yard touchdown and a 14-0 Buffalo lead.

That's when Roethlisberger responded, as Tomlin kept his first offense on the field against the Bills' second-team defense. He hit Hines Ward quickly on first down on a skinny post for a 24-yard gain. Four plays later, Holmes ran deep on the left and undressed cornerback Ashton Youboty. Holmes broke free, and Roethlisberger hit him in the middle of the end zone for a 40-yard touchdown pass that was 55 yards in the air.

"It was a little high, but he got under it," Roethlisberger said.

Leftwich replaced Roethlisberger with 4:12 left in the first half, the second-team offense with him. On his first play as a Steelers quarterback, Leftwich rifled a 24-yard pass to Nate Washington. But not only did that drive bog down at the 24, but Jeff Reed sent his 42-yard field goal try wide to the left.

Rian Lindell kicked a 43-yard field goal to give Buffalo a 17-7 lead in the third quarter.

The Steelers accepted a gift from Buffalo late in the third quarter and made the Bills pay. Linebacker Donovan Woods recovered a muffed Buffalo punt at the 18.

Rashard Mendenhall picked up all the yards on five consecutive carries. He broke a tackle on the first play for 9 yards. On his fifth carry, he took a deep handoff from Leftwich and ran 6 yards untouched off the right side for the touchdown.

That closed the Buffalo lead to 17-14 with 1:51 left in the third quarter.

But never count out those Steelers special teams. Reed kicked off to the 5, and McKelvin sprinted up the middle for a 95-yard kickoff return for a Buffalo touchdown at 1:38 that pushed their lead to 24-14.

Dixon ran a bootleg on fourth-and-1 around right end and behind blocks by Limas Sweed and tight end Dezmond Sherrod. He ran unscathed 47 yards for a touchdown. That shaved Buffalo's lead to 24-21 with 4:31 left and those Canadian fans still left were entertained right up until Rucker's drop on the final play.