- Bills defeat the Steelers on SNF, 26-15
- Pittsburgh is no longer the No.1 in the AFC.
- Buffalo has solid chances of reaching the AFC East title after a long time.
Excellent Bills Show Their True Face
Buffalo Bills (10-3) beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football, 26-15, pushing the conference rivals in serious trouble.
They handed the team from Heinz Field the second defeat in a row, which removed them from the top place in the AFC standings, establishing the Kansas City Chiefs as the new leaders.
Yet that wasn’t the intention of Josh Allen and his crew. What they wanted is to win another game and improve their situation in the AFC, and continue the quest towards the first AFC East title since 1995.
“Ten wins, the (job) is not finished,” Allen said. “We know what we have to do.”
With 10 wins and three losses, they have a nice advantage over the Miami Dolphins, who are 8-5. Interestingly, Dolphins lost to the Chiefs last night, so it turned out that these two Bills helped the champs and the other way around.
Allen threw for 238 yards, had two touchdown passes and one interception. His favorite target was Stefon Diggs, who caught 10 tosses for 130 yards, and one touchdown. His and Gabriel Davis’ touchdown receptions both came in the third period, which was when the home team made the decisive difference on the scoreboard.
However, the turning point of the entire event was Taron Johnson’s pick-six on Ben Roethlisberger. Buffalo’s cornerback had a 51 return in the finish of the first half, bringing the lead to his team’s side.
Steelers’ Record Overshadowed by Another Loss
Pittsburgh (11-2) set a new NFL record, recording at least one sack in 70 consecutive matches. This is a great honor for the Steelers, whose rock-solid defense is a franchise trademark.
But this won’t decrease the disappointment following the defeat. Steelers lost against the Washington Football Team last weekend, which was a massive sensation. A second defeat in a row is something that definitely looks like a small crisis, although it came against one of the best teams in the league.
For many, Big Ben’s performances are the key. He failed to step up today, making two turnovers in the key moments. His second interception came with seven minutes to go, and the Steelers trailing 26-15. After that, Josh Allen took the football and kept it until the end of the match.
We’ve lost two. We’re facing some adversity. But we’re not hitting the panic button,” said Roethlisberger, who had 187 yards with two TD passes and interceptions each. “Offensively, we’re not very good. We’re not playing good football, and it starts with me.”
James Conner was playing below all the expectations, having just 18 rushing yards on 10 reps. JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington caught a touchdown pass each.
Steelers will meet the Cincinnati Bengals on the road in the next round and host the Indianapolis Colts after that contest. The Bills have two road matches, against the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots.
