Orchard Park, New York – The only good news from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ trip to western New York on Sunday was that they won the playoff berth for the first time in three years before banging against the buffalo bills.
There are no redemptive qualities in the 60 minutes they spent playing the real game at Pills Stadium.
The Steelers lost their grip on the first seed at the AFC and are nowhere closer to winning a division title than they were a week ago after the 26-15 defeat, a second time in six days.
The loss to the AFC East leaders reduced the Steelers to 11-2 and entered the second playoff seed at the conference 12-1 behind Kansas City. The bills, at 10-3, are on the Steelers’ heels, and the Cleveland Browns (9-3) have a chance to go into the AFC North Front game on Monday night.
“We played the trick today,” said defensive captain Cameron Hayward. “It’s so simple.”
With one minute left in the first half and the Steelers taking a 7-3 lead, everything was sour. Ben Rothlisberger threw a stopped pass and turned for a 51-yard touchdown, giving the buffalo a 9-7 lead.
From 102 to half a yardage due to the Steelers’ injury-complex defense, Bills intercepted behind Josh Allen, throwing two touchdown passes 23-7 in the third quarter, which was not seriously threatened. Allen had 166 of his 238 passing yards in the second half, with bills totaling 232 yards and controlling the clock against the NFL’s third-rate defense.
Coach Mike Tomlin said: “They really provoked the attack and couldn’t keep up with the pace.”
The Steelers finished with 224 yards – for the first time in six games they held under 336 – and they held the ball for only 8 minutes, 20 seconds in the second half.
Ruthlisberger finished 21 off 37 passes for 187 yards with two touchdowns – to James Washington and Juju Smith-Schuster – but he was twice suspended and had a season-low 65.9 pass rating. He was eliminated for the first time in 275 pass attempts in the third quarter of the Nov. 1 game in Baltimore.
The Steelers took 1 for 10 in the third fall and held on for just under 20 points for the third game in a row. Despite the return of starter James Connor, who got 47 yards out of 17 carries, they failed to cure the game of running unhealthy.
“Dangerously, we’re not very good at it,” Rothlisberger said. “Now, we’re not playing good football, it starts with me. We all have to look in the mirror, it starts with me, understand that we all have to be better. I think we will be.”
Rothlisberger was asked if the Steelers had enough time before the playoffs started to get back on track. They will not take the field again until December 21 in Cincinnati.
“I believe so,” he said. “If I don’t play enough football, I have to hang on to it.”
The Steelers entered the game with Joe Hayden, Robert Spillen and Vince Williams, who are already minus Butt Dupree and Devin Bush. When charged, left-arm defender Matt Filer left with an injury in the first half, while Rookie Kevin Dodson followed him into the locker room with his own injury in the third quarter.
“You may be put in some difficult situation,” Howard said. “But it is our job to deal with suffering.”
The Steelers did it for the first 28 minutes, taking two breaks and taking a 7-0 lead with 1:42 left in the half until the Bills scored a goal. Not only did Darren Johnson’s 51-yard interception give the Bills their first lead 50 seconds later, but it woke them up.
“I can’t do that at the end of the half,” Rothlisberger said. “Not just turnover, but it’s points. That’s 110% for me.”
The Buffalo took the kickoff in the second half and went 68 yards in eight games to take a 16-7 lead over Stephen Dix on Allen’s 19-yard touchdown bass.
After completing 10 of 23 passes for 76 yards in the first half, Allen Drive scored 5 for 5, joining Dix four times for 42 yards. Dix finished with 10 catches for 130 yards.
Allen and Dix worked in the middle of the field again when Pills returned the ball following three and out. Gabriel Davis completed 22 and 19 yards before finding Allen for a 13-yard touchdown and 23-7 lead. This drive covers 57 yards in four plays.
“He made quick decisions and got the ball out quickly,” Tomlin said of Allen. “In a quarterback like he has an MVP-caliber year, it can be hard to catch him for 60 minutes. He was able to figure things out and find some rhythm, which made it a tough sled for us.”
The Steelers responded by having their third half, with Rothlisberger capturing Smith-Schuster for a 10-game, 81-yard drive for a 3-yard score. Eric Efron caught a 2-point conversion attempt to pull the Steelers between 23-15 and 12:18.
The Buffalo responded with an 11-play drive, which ended in a 26-15 lead with a 23-yard field goal from Tyler Pass. Rothlisburger threw his second interception as Washington looked deeper into the next possession.
The Steelers never got the ball back, as Allen helped run the final 7:11.
The top five drivers for the Steelers ended up in the bundles. After dropping the pass in the first two possessions, Dionte Johnson was sent to the bench, where he did not return until the second half. Ephron also had a drop.
The bills were equally ineligible, with four bunts and two turning points in their first six possessions.
The Steelers were unable to produce anything after Mike Hilton’s interruption in the first quarter. They were more fortunate after Cam Sutton recovered a stumbling block that forced Hilton into the Bills 30.
The Steelers took three plays after the sale to take a 7-0 lead. Following James Connor’s two runs, one of which was saved by a stumbled Smith-Schuster, Rothlisberger hit Washington 19-gauge in the middle of the final zone.
This will be the highlight of the first half and debatable.
Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Joe can be contacted by email via [email protected] or Twitter .
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Sports | Steelers / NFL