NFL Super Wild Card Weekend Recap: Buffalo Bills 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 17

The Buffalo Bills advanced to the divisional round of the NFL playoffs with a 31-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Bills moved down the field with ease on their opening drive and scored on a nine-yard pass from Josh Allen to tight end Dawson Knox before making it 14-0 with 4:20 left in the first quarter when Allen and rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid connected on a 29-yarder.

An incredible 52-yard scramble by Allen put Buffalo up by three touchdowns midway through the second quarter. The Steelers finally got on the board late in the half on a 10-yard pass from Mason Rudolph to Diontae Johnson.

Pittsburgh opened the scoring in the second half, with Chris Boswell converting a 40-yard field goal, but the Bills matched them with their own field goal from Tyler Bass at the end of the third quarter.

A seven-yard pass from Rudolph to Calvin Austin III early in the fourth quarter brought the Steelers back to within one score for the first time since the first frame, but the Bills answered, with Khalil Shakir making multiple players miss on a 17-yard touchdown reception.

Offensive spotlight: The Bills ended the regular season on a hot streak, and this game was a reminder of just how many ways their offense can beat opposing defenses. Josh Allen went 21-of-30 for 203 yards with three touchdown passes and a ridiculous 52-yard rushing touchdown. As if that wasn’t enough to deal with, running back James Cook averaged 4.4 yards per carry on 18 attempts.

Defensive spotlight: Tackling was an issue for the Steelers, the primary reason for two of the Bills' touchdowns. Allen on his long scramble for a score juked a defender after his initial burst downfield, and safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was shrugged off by Shakir on the receiver's fourth-quarter touchdown.

Rookie spotlight: First-round Steelers tackle Broderick Jones and second-round Bills guard O’Cyrus Torrence struggled in their playoff debuts, particularly in pass protection. Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid saw six targets, turning them into three catches for 59 yards and a touchdown.

Box Score

Passing

Rushing

Receiving