Buffalo Bills Stay Hot Take Out Steelers

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ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- The extreme winter weather could only delay the celebration for the Buffalo Bills.

Kicking off 27-plus hours later than originally scheduled at Highmark Stadium, the Bills made up for lost time by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17 in an AFC wild-card matchup that extended Buffalo's win streak to six games.

Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen threw first-quarter touchdown passes to tight ends Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid. Allen added a personal record 52-yard touchdown run in the second quarter to stake the Bills to a 21-0 lead, one they would not relinquish.

"They played man, we didn't have a great man call on, so I decided to try to find a lane and got 15-20 yards downfield and there's a lot of guys screaming slide," Allen said. "And didn't slide and scored. So, it worked out that time."

Or as McDermott described, "That's Josh doing some of what Josh is known for. And so, it's everything in moderation." That from a coach that has emphasized the importance of Allen learning how to slide over the years to avoid hits.

The Steelers, meanwhile, saw their unlikely late-season push end amid Allen's big plays and their own turnovers. Pittsburgh, which was playing without All-Pro pass-rusher T.J. Watt, reached the postseason despite possessing a 4% chance of making the playoffs on Dec. 22.

It was Allen's fourth career playoff game with three passing touchdowns, passing Jim Kelly for the most in Bills postseason history. It was only the second time since Week 4 that Allen did not turn the ball over.

Trailing 14-0, the Steelers had their best opportunity to score from the 4-yard line early in the second quarter. Instead, they came away with zero points after Kaiir Elam picked off Mason Rudolph as Elam dove in front of Diontae Johnson in the end zone to nab the ball.

Next up for the Bills will be a Kansas City Chiefs team led by Patrick Mahomes in his first career road playoff game.