Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) looks to throw deep against the Steelers.

Buffalo Bills stroll past Pittsburgh Steelers in AFC Wild Card round

The Buffalo Bills are moving onto the AFC Divisional Round after comfortably knocking out the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17.

Steelers Struggle

After failing to score on the opening drive of the game, the Steelers defense took the field. The team was missing All-Pro linebacker T.J. Watt after he went down with a knee injury in the final game of the regular season.

Josh Allen and crew took over and drove 70 yards down the field. The tight ends were instrumental this drive. Rookie Dalton Kincaid got things started with a 20-yard grab bringing the Bills to the midfield. Later, Allen found a wide open Dawson Knox in the corner of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown.

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Bad to Worse

Then, bad went to worse for Pittsburgh when former Georgia Bulldog George Pickens fumbled the football. After securing the ball, the receiver dove forward attempting to earn more yards. Defensive back Taron Johnson hit Pickens as he dove, jarring the ball loose.

Although the play as initially ruled as an incompletion, Sean McDermott challenged the play and won. The Bills had the football in Pittsburgh’s 29-yard line.

Now, it only took Buffalo one play to score a touchdown as Allen found Kincaid unmarked in the middle of the field. The Bills went up 14-0 with 4:10 left in the first quarter.

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After the Steelers got the ball back, they fumbled again. Pat Freiermuth caught a 20-yard pass and headed up the field. As he lowered his shoulder to break off a tackle, the tight end lost the football.

Luckily for Pittsburgh, the refs ruled that the ball was recovered out of bounds. The Bills challenged the call, but were unsuccessful. They had no remaining challenges for the rest of the game.

After a solid drive that extended into the second quarter, the Steelers found themselves with the ball in Buffalo’s 4-yard line. On second and goal, Mason Rudolph threw an interception in the end zone.

Then, the Bills would make Pittsburgh pay yet again. Josh Allen snapped the ball on third and eight in their own half. After reading a blitz, the sixth year quarterback stepped up into the pocket and sprinted up field. He broke a tackle and entered the endzone for a 52-yard touchdown. The Bills had 21 unanswered points against a struggling Pittsburgh side.

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The Steelers finally caught a break with 2:23 left in the second quarter. After nearly intercepting a poor Josh Allen pass on third down, the Pittsburgh special teams blocked Buffalo’s field goal and recovered the football in the Bills’ 33-yard line. They made this field position count as Diontae Johnson scored a 10-yard touchdown. At the half, the Bills led 21-7.

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Second Half

The Steelers’ defense had a much stronger start to the second half, sacking Josh Allen and stopping the Bills on third and long. Unfortunately, the offense couldn’t really help them and only put up three points.

The defense came up big again, holding Buffalo to just three points after a long drive that lasted over seven minutes.

Pittsburgh started the fourth quarter strong with a touchdown, making it a one score game. It wasn’t enough though as the Bills’ offense was in full control. Josh Allen sacrificed his body earning first down on the ground that kept the clocking moving. He even earned a personal foul call after being hit late. A couple of plays later, Buffalo found the end zone after poor tackling by the Steelers defense.

The Steelers struggled offensively, turning the ball over after not converting on fourth down. The Bills marched up the field running the clock down to the two minute warning. After the break, Tyler Bass missed his second field goal of the night. Pittsburgh got the ball back with 1:57 left in the game. As the team drove up the field, the clock ran out and the Bills celebrated a well earned victory.

Postgame Problems

One of the biggest stories of the night came after the game. When the coaches contract situation was brought up, Mike Tomlin walked off the podium before the reporter could even finish her question.

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Mike Tomlin has just one year left on his contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has a 170-100-2 record with the Steelers, one Superbowl and has never had a losing season. There is no doubt that he a Steeler legend, but there is doubt on whether or not he will be Pittsburgh’s head coach at the start of the 2025 season.

Sean McDermott started his press conference off by thanking everyone who helped make the game happen. He even thanked Kathy Hochul, who postponed the game to Monday due to bad weather.

This is what he had to say on Josh Allen’s rushing touchdown.

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Up next, the Buffalo Bills host the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round. Josh Allen is looking for revenge after what happened in the 2021 divisional round when Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs marched down the field in 13 seconds, tying the game with a field goal. Kansas City went on to win in overtime.

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