It took a day longer than Bills Mafia had expected, but the Buffalo Bills are moving along on the road to Super Bowl 58.
In a wild-card game delayed more than 24 hours by lake effect snow and wind conditions, Josh Allen passed for 203 yards and three TDs as the Bills withstood a late comeback by the Pittsburgh Steelers to win 31-17 on Monday afternoon. Allen also rushed for 74 yards and his team’s other score, a 52-yard sprint through Pittsburgh’s defense in the second quarter.
Personalized name Josh Allen Baseball Jersey Superior Bills Josh Allen Gift
Buffalo led 21-0 midway through the second quarter before Pittsburgh mounted its charge, sparked by a blocked field goal that led to a touchdown. But the Bills hung on, their triumph cemented by Allen’s 17-yard TD strike to Khalil Shakir midway through the fourth quarter.
“We’ve got a resilient group, the veteran leadership that we have I really think it’s unmatched in the league,” Allen said on the CBS broadcast following the game. “I just appreciate the guys.”
They will next host the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs in next Sunday’s divisional round, Buffalo’s victory also sends the Houston Texans to face the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.
The win was the sixth in a row for the Bills, whose late-season rush enabled them to snatch the AFC East crown from the Miami Dolphins. Buffalo, one of 12 teams to never win the Super Bowl, advances to the divisional round for the fourth consecutive season. The Chiefs have eliminated the Bills in two of the past three postseasons.
Read more:
- When is the Super Bowl 2024? Everything you need to know
- New Orleans Saints vs. Los Angeles Rams | 2023 Week 16 Game Highlights
- 2023 Gasparilla Bowl odds, spread, line: UCF vs. Georgia Tech picks, prediction, bets by expert on 85-32 roll
Meanwhile, the Steelers suffered their fifth consecutive playoff defeat, dating to the 2016 AFC title game. And they could be entering an offseason of massive uncertainty, head coach Mike Tomlin, per an NBC report, set to weigh his future with just one year remaining on his contract. Pittsburgh’s coach since 2007, Tomlin is currently the league’s longest-tenured head coach following Bill Belichick’s departure from the New England Patriots last week.
The Steelers got a late-season jolt from third-string QB Mason Rudolph (229 yards, 2 TDs passing Monday), though that also served to spotlight the struggles of starter Kenny Pickett, the team’s first-round pick in 2022, who suffered an injured ankle midway through the season. Rudolph is scheduled to be a free agent in March.
Game highlights videos
HOW DID HE NOT GO DOWN?!
What an effort by Khalil Shakir
📺: #PITvsBUF on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/rnjmj1Pg4j pic.twitter.com/M7bifWZrrK— NFL (@NFL) January 16, 2024
.@Rudolph2Mason ➡️ @CalvinAustinIII for the TD 🎯
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/T87FSnfvVk pic.twitter.com/vnEMSDBSDU
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) January 16, 2024
Allen to Knox and the @BuffaloBills take the early lead!
📺: #PITvsBUF on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/rnjmj1Pg4j pic.twitter.com/zaplYD4Qv0— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2024
And now Allen to Kincaid for 6!
A perfect start for @JoshAllenQB and the @BuffaloBills.
📺: #PITvsBUF on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/rnjmj1Pg4j pic.twitter.com/Bepp3cfI4m— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2024
Dionate Johnson gets the @steelers on the board after the blocked FG ‼️
📺: #PITvsBUF on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/rnjmj1Pg4j pic.twitter.com/YEG09iWzXl— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2024
https://dribbble.com/hothawaiianshirt
https://issuu.com/hothawaiianshirt
https://www.twitch.tv/hothawaiianshirt
https://www.behance.net/hothawaiianshirt
https://vimeo.com/hothawaiianshirt