Bills open playoffs with methodical victory over Steelers
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The extreme winter weather could only delay the celebration for the Buffalo Bills.
Kicking off 27-plus hours later than originally scheduled at Highmark Stadium, the Bills made up for lost time by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17 in an AFC wild-card matchup that extended Buffalo’s win streak to six games.
Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen threw first-quarter touchdown passes to tight ends Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid. Allen added a personal record 52-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to stake the Bills to a 21-0 lead, one they would not relinquish.
The Steelers, meanwhile, saw their unlikely late-season push end amid Allen’s big plays and their own turnovers. Pittsburgh, which was playing without All-Pro pass-rusher T.J. Watt, reached the postseason despite possessing a 4% chance of making the playoffs on Dec. 22.
Here’s a look at the top storylines for both teams in Monday’s matchup:
Buffalo Bills
Dealing with a variety of defensive injuries as the Steelers got the game to within one score early in the fourth quarter, the ball was in quarterback Josh Allen’s hands to put together a drive and pull ahead.
The Bills charged downfield and, with second-and-9 from the Steelers’ 16-yard line, Allen found wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who managed to somehow find his way out of an attempted tackle by safety Minkah Fitzpatrick downfield and ran past other Steelers defenders into the end zone with 6:27 remaining.
The score punctuated a 31-17 win for the Bills in which the team took advantage of miscues by the Steelers and found cohesion on offense, with Allen completing 21 of 30 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 74 yards and one score on eight carries.
It was Allen’s fourth career playoff game with three passing touchdowns, passing Jim Kelly for the most in Bills postseason history. It was only the second time since Week 4 that Allen did not turn the ball over.
Next up for the Bills will be a Kansas City Chiefs team led by Patrick Mahomes in his first career road playoff game.
Describe the game in two words: Step one. Winning in the wild-card round is a step in the right direction for a team with the biggest of goals, and while it wasn’t a perfect performance — the theme of the Bills’ season — a strong start led to Buffalo advancing to the next round.
QB breakdown:
Allen posted an impressive all-around effort, but his 52-yard record-breaking touchdown run deserves a shoutout of its own. On a third-and-8 play, Allen darted past and through defenders to score the Bills’ third touchdown of the day despite safety Damontae Kazee making contact to try to bring him down. The run was the second-longest rushing touchdown by a quarterback in postseason history and the longest rushing score in Bills postseason history.
Pivotal play: Kaiir Elam’s interception in the second quarter. The Steelers were primed to score on Pittsburgh’s fifth drive of the game. Backup cornerback Elam came in during the drive for Christian Benford (knee) and was run over on a 12-yard pass to tight end Pat Freiermuth then was called for defensive pass interference two plays later. Two plays after that, Elam redeemed himself and picked off a Mason Rudolph pass in the end zone to keep the Bills up two scores and the Steelers scoreless.
Troubling trend: Defensive injuries. With the return of defensive tackle DaQuan Jones late in the season, the health of the Bills’ D seemed to be looking up. Then starting cornerback Rasul Douglas, outside linebacker Tyrel Dodson and safety Taylor Rapp were hurt in Week 18 and missed the start to the playoffs. And in Monday’s contest, starting middle linebacker Terrel Bernard (ankle) was carted off and linebacker Baylon Spector (back) and cornerback Christian Benford (knee) both exited. Nickel corner Taron Johnson also left to be evaluated for a head injury. With a short week, the number of defensive injuries could
