PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger played a nearly flawless first half in his first game since injuring his right foot, James Farrior had a 22-yard interception for a touchdown and Buffalo's starting offense struggled yet again as the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Bills 17-0 in a preseason game Saturday night.

Roethlisberger led two scoring drives while going 15 of 19 for 168 yards and 103.5 passer rating before sitting out the second half — showing why coach Mike Tomlin didn't seem all that worried when his quarterback bruised his foot during the final training camp practice on Aug 20. Roethlisberger didn't play in a 17-13 loss to Washington two days later.

Rashard Mendenhall, getting most of the carries with the starting offense with Willie Parker (hamstring) out, fumbled inside the Bills 30 on the Steelers' opening possession. Mendenhall came back to score from the 4 on a 13-play, 87-yard drive in which Roethlisberger looked regular season ready, finding Limas Sweed for 16 yards, Hines Ward for 19 and Heath Miller for 18.

The Steelers' regulars are expected to play only a series or two Thursday against Carolina, so Tomlin called this a dress rehearsal for the regular season. He stayed with the same practice and meeting schedule as during the season, and offensive coordinator Bruce Arians opened up the playbook more than usual for the preseason.

For the Bills' offense, it was more of the same — no touchdowns, no sustained drives and little yardage, or much like it's been throughout a preseason in which a newly installed no-huddle offense has mostly been a no-go. With starters playing the first half for both teams, the Steelers outgained the Bills 209-50 and led 12-3 in first downs and nearly 3 to 1 in time of possession.

In three games, the Steelers' top-ranked defense from a season ago has yet to allow a touchdown.

Wide receiver Terrell Owens, missing a third consecutive game with a sprained toe, probably can't return soon enough to an offense that is becoming a big worry as the Sept. 14 opener against New England draws closer. In four preseason games — the Bills played in the Hall of Fame game — Buffalo's starters have only 303 yards, 15 first downs, a field goal and five turnovers.

Trent Edwards was 6 of 13 for 31 yards, and he threw the ball directly in Farrior's hands for the gamer's first touchdown and a 10-0 Steelers lead. Farrior probably wished he had gotten this score when the games count, as the inside linebacker has only one career interception return touchdown in 12 seasons.

Both Steelers quarterbacks were more effective than Edwards; backup Charlie Batch, who took over in the second half, was 7 of 9 for 79 yards as Pittsburgh outgained the Bills 359-135 and led 41:15 to 18:45 in time of possession. Buffalo moved past midfield only twice, both with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback in the second half, and no Bills running back gained more than 19 yards.

The Bills finally moved into scoring range with less than three minutes remaining, but rookie Joe Burnett blocked Rian Lindell's 33-yard field-goal attempt.

Mendenhall got 16 carries for 48 yards but fumbled again — just as he did three times in the preseason as a rookie last season. His fumbling became such a concern before an early season shoulder injury ended his season, Tomlin forced Mendenhall to carry a football with him an entire week at the team's practice complex.