ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Snow or no snow, it didn't make any difference for Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
Allen threw three touchdown passes and scored on a franchise-record 52-yard touchdown run to lead the Bills to a 31-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC wild card round on Monday evening.
The game at Highmark Stadium was scheduled to be played on Sunday, but snowstorm off of Lake Erie dumped more than 2 feet of snow on the region, delaying the game by nearly 28 hours.
But it was worth the wait for the Buffalo fans, who trudged their way into the snow covered stands and threw handfuls of it into air like confetti every time the Bills made big play after big play.
“We put on a show in the snow,” left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “We’re here. We got one more week.”
The second-seeded Bills (12-6) will now host Patrick Mahomes and the No. 3 seed Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round on Sunday night. For Buffalo, they get their wish to finall face the Chiefs at home and after having their 2020 and ’21 seasons ended with playoff losses at Kansas City.
Buffalo stormed out to a 21-0 lead before Pittsburgh rallied to score on three straight possessions and the score to 24-17 with 10:32 remaining in the game.
Allen and the Bills responded with a 7-play, 70-yard drive that burned over four minutes off the clock. Allen sealed the win with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir. Shakir made an incredible effort on the play, catching the pass over the middle at the 10, slipped Minkah Fitzpatrick’s tackle attempt with a spin move, and dashed past the rest of the Steelers defenders into the end zone.
Allen completed 21 of 30 for 203 yards and ran for 74 yards on eight carries and became the first quarterback in NFL playoff history to throw three or more touchdown passes while rushing for 70 or more yards and a score.
Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph threw two touchdown passes in his first playoff start for the Steelers (10-8), but too much inconsistent play from Pittsburgh on both sides of the ball to keep up Buffalo.
The loss marked the fifth-straight in the playoffs for the Steelers; with most recent postseason victory being seven years ago.
“I’m appreciative of the efforts. But it’s not mystical. We didn’t do what was required to win tonight,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. “Can’t come into an environment like this with a playoff-caliber team and turn the ball over like that and expect to be competitive.”
When asked about his future in Pittsburgh after completing his 17th season, Tomlin walked out of the press conference without bothering to answer.
Buffalo took an early lead on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Dawson Knox that capped an 80-yard opening drive. Buffalo then took advantage of a Steeler turnover, as linebacker Terrel Bernard recovered receiver George Pickens’ fumble at the Pittsburgh 29, Allen hit a streaking Dalton Kincaid down the middle of the field on the next play for the touchdown and a 14-0 lead.
Allen then sent the crowed into a frenzy with his touchdown run. The drive was set up by cornerback Kaiir Elam, who came up with an interception in the end zone that halted a Pittsburgh drive that made it to the Buffalo 4.
Pittsburgh was able to finally capitalize on a rare Bills’ miscue. Coach Sean McDermott elected to attempt a 49-yard field goal into the wind with a little more than two minutes left before halftime.
Montravius Adams blocked Tyler Bass’ low kick, sending the ball almost 20 yards into Bills territory and Nick Herbig recovered the ball at Buffalo’s 33. The Steelers scored five plays later on Rudolph’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson to make it 21-7 at the break.
Tampa Bay 32, Philadelphia 9
TAMPA, Fla. — Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continued their resurgence, dismantling the defending NFC-champion Philadelphia Eagles with a 32-9 victory on Monday night to cap off wild car playoff weekend.
Mayfield passed for 337 yards and three touchdown, and the Buccaneers defense made things miserable for Jalen Hurts and the sputtering Philadelphia offense.
Tampa Bay (10-8) has now won six of its last seven games as they advance to the NFC divisional roundand head north to Detroit to face the Lions (13-5).
Already ahead 3-0, the Bucs took advantage of the Eagles porous defense and extended their lead with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Mayfield to David Moore in the first quarter.
Rookie Trey Palmer broke the game wide open with a 56-yard catch-and-run for a score to put Tampa Bay up 25-9 late in the third quarter.
For Philadelphia (11-7), it was a disappointing ending for a team that had hopes of returning to the title game. The Eagles were out-gained 426 to 276 in total yards and went 0 for 9 on third down.
Trailing 16-3, the Eagles finally cut into the deficit as Hurts hit DeVonta Smith for a 55-yard completion to set up a 5-yard scoring pass to Dallas Goedert 3:06 remaining before halftime.
Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni elected to Jake Elliott’s conversion kick off the board after Tampa Bay was penalized for offsides. Philadelphia then lined up for the two-point conversion attempt from the 1-yard line, but the interior of the Tampa Bat defense stopped Hurts for no gain.
Hurts finished the night 25 of 35 for 250 yards before being replaced by backup Marcus Mariota in the final minute of the game. Smith caught eight balls for 148 yards for the Eagles.
Comments