The Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills would be the first of two Wild Card playoff games taking place today. Incliment weather forced this game to be played today instead of yesterday. The Steelers (10-7) came into this game as the #7 seed after winning against the Ravens last week. Buffalo (11-6) snatched the #2 seed and the AFC East crown on path to this matchup.
Bills QB Josh Allen would get his team to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. His two TD passes to Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox set the tone early. The second quarter would see Allen use his legs to dissect the Steelers defense. While rushing for 74 yards total, Allen would break through lifeless tackles to scamper 52 yards for another Bills score.
Down 21-0 late in the second quarter, the Steelers special teams unit would produce a spark by blocking a Bills FG attempt. This would lead to QB Mason Rudolph finding Diontae Johnson for a touchdown pass, making the score 21-7 at halftime.
STEELERS DEFENSE NO MATCH FOR BILLS
Pittsburgh’s defense just could not withstand the Bills on offense. Already missing their star defensive player T.J. Watt didn’t help matters as they would give up 245 yards of total offense in the first half. The breakdown of how Kincaid’s first TD pass occured displayed a lack in coverage from the Steelers secondary.
After a third quarter of only field goals from each team, Pittsburgh would try to mount a comeback with a an early touchdown pass from Rudolph to Calvin Austin III in the fourth quarter. This would make the score 24-17. The Bills would answer with another TD pass from Allen to Khalil Shakir, putting the game on ice.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
With this win the Bills will move on to the AFC Divisional Round. Their next opponents are the Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs. Buffalo was won their last six games and have a lot of momentum going into next week. For the Steelers, yet another winning season comes to an end in the postseason. It will be interesting to see if Mike Tomlin stays in Steel City for one last run.
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