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 [January 16, 2024]
Josh Allen passed for three touchdowns and rushed for another
to lead the Buffalo Bills to a 31-17 victory over the Pittsburgh
Steelers in an AFC wild-card game on Monday at Orchard Park, N.Y.
Khalil Shakir had a pivotal touchdown catch in the fourth quarter to
help the second-seeded Bills win a playoff game for the fourth
straight season. Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid also had touchdown
catches for Buffalo.
Allen completed 21 of 30 passes for 203 yards and rushed for 74
yards on eight carries. James Cook had 79 yards on 18 rushes and
Kaiir Elam snatched a key interception as the Bills recorded their
sixth straight victory.
The Bills will host the third-seeded Kansas City Chiefs in next
weekend's divisional round.
Mason Rudolph completed 22 of 39 passes for 229 yards, two
touchdowns and one interception for the seventh-seeded Steelers.
Diontae Johnson and Calvin Austin III had scoring catches for
Pittsburgh.
The game, initially scheduled for Sunday, was pushed back to Monday
after a massive snowstorm hit Buffalo and surrounding towns. The
temperature at kickoff on Monday was 17 degrees (felt like 4).
Pittsburgh moved within 24-17 when Rudolph connected with Austin on
a 7-yard scoring pass with 10:32 left in the contest.
Buffalo answered to restore its 14-point lead as the diminutive
Shakir made a giant individual play.
On second-and-9 from the Pittsburgh 17-yard line, Allen threw a
short pass to Shakir and Steelers star safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was
all over him at the 15. But Shakir shook off the tackle and broke
another while weaving through traffic to complete the touchdown with
6:27 remaining that effectively defused Pittsburgh's charge.
"He mans up right there and makes a heck of a play and gives us the
spark that we needed at the end of the game," Allen said of Shakir
in a postgame interview.
Buffalo appeared on track to coast through the game when it scored
the first 21 points.
Allen hit Knox for a 9-yard score with 7:02 left in the opening
quarter. The Bills soon received a big break when Taron Johnson
forced Pittsburgh's George Pickens to fumble, and Buffalo's Terrel
Bernard recovered at the Steelers 29.
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Jan 15, 2024; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback
Josh Allen (17) runs the ball in the first half against the
Pittsburgh Steelers in a 2024 AFC wild card game at Highmark
Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports
On the next play, Allen drilled a touchdown pass to
Kincaid to make it 14-0 with 4:10 left in the quarter.
Pittsburgh had a chance to narrow its deficit, but Rudolph was
intercepted in the end zone by Elam with 10:52 left in the first
half.
Buffalo took advantage when Allen took the ball 52 yards for a
touchdown on a designed run. He broke a tackle at the Steelers 35
and kicked his speed up while finishing the play.
Late in the second quarter, Rudolph tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass
to Johnson to pull Pittsburgh within 21-7 with 1:39 left.
The teams traded field goals in the third quarter -- Chris Boswell
connected from 40 yards out for the Steelers and Tyler Bass kicked a
45-yarder for Buffalo -- to keep the margin at 14 entering the final
stanza.
The Steelers dropped their fifth consecutive playoff game dating
back to the 2016 postseason. They also fell to 1-11 when star
linebacker T.J. Watt (knee) misses a game.
"I didn't think about it," Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said of not
having the three-time NFL sack champion. "We knew all week he wasn't
playing so we prepared with that mindset. So I didn't waste any time
thinking about what wasn't at our disposal."
Bernard, the Bills' leading tackler, was carted off the field with a
right ankle injury during the third quarter.
--Field Level Media
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