Josh Allen accounted for four touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills swept the Pittsburgh Steelers aside to set up a mouth-watering Divisional Round meeting with the Kansas City Chiefs, who advanced thanks to their victory over the Miami Dolphins on Saturday.
Tuesday 16 January 2024 07:02, UK
Josh Allen threw for three touchdowns and rushed for a 52-yard score to lead the Buffalo Bills to a 31-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Monday's rescheduled Wild Card clash at Orchard Park.
Khalil Shakir produced a decisive touchdown catch-and-run in the fourth quarter to help the second-seeded Bills blunt any hopes of a comeback as they won a playoff game for the fourth straight season.
Tight ends Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid both had touchdown catches in the first quarter as Buffalo raced out to a 21-0 lead.
Allen completed 21 of 30 passes for 203 yards and rushed for 74 yards on eight carries, while James Cook had 79 yards on 18 rushes and Kaiir Elam snatched a key interception as the Bills recorded their sixth straight win.
Buffalo will now 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, his scoring strikes going to Diontae Johnson and Calvin Austin III.
The game, initially scheduled for Sunday, was pushed back to Monday after a snowstorm hit Buffalo and surrounding towns, with the temperature at kickoff on Monday 17 degrees.
Pittsburgh moved within 24-17 when Rudolph connected with Austin on a seven-yard scoring pass with 10:32 left in the contest.
Buffalo answered to restore its 14-point lead as the shifty Shakir made an electrifying individual play. On second-and-nine from the Pittsburgh 17-yard line, Allen threw a short pass to the receiver, who shirked a tackle attempt from star Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick at the 15 before breaking another and shimmying through traffic for a 17-yard score with 6.27 to play.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Buffalo Bills
Buffalo appeared on track to coast through the game when it cruised to the first 21 points.
Allen hit Knox for a nine-yard score with 7:02 left in the opening quarter, before the Bills received a welcome break when Taron Johnson forced Pittsburgh's George Pickens to fumble, with Buffalo's Terrel Bernard recovering at the Steelers 29.
On the next play, Allen drilled a 29-yard 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 turned a third-down scramble into a 52-yard house call after breaking a tackle and putting his head down to race away from the Steelers secondary, prompting wild scenes in the crowd as Bills fans threw snow in celebration.
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.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen: "We've got a resilient group, I think the veteran leadership we have is unmatched in the league. Guys love each other, care about each other, we come into work happy every day."
Sky Sports NFL's Phoebe Schecter: "They are far from perfect but a team that work hard across the board. Josh Allen is the heart of this team and leaves everything on the field for them."
Sky Sports NFL's Jason Bell: "We know he (Allen) can make plays, it's just about eliminating the turnovers. He had to take over and put the game in his own hands. If he plays like this this team can make it all the way, he's playing his best football now."
The AFC Divisional Round schedule has been set, with the Bills set to host the Chiefs at Highmark Stadium next Sunday while the CJ Stroud-led Houston Texans take on the No. 1-seeded Baltimore Ravens.
Watch every game from the 2023 NFL playoffs live on Sky Sports as we continue on the road to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas.
