The Pittsburgh Steelers may be proud of one of the NFL’s top defenses, but their vented unit has no answers for Stefan Diggs on Sunday night. Limited between the initial defensive gear Snail Fest, Statile served Josh Allen’s departure to finish in the expected 14th AFC shutdown of the opening week of Jog Allen. While they had the ball, meanwhile, things weren’t nearly as easy, between Beyonc આગળ’s next seven consecutive pressures Deonta Johnson got a trip to the bench and Ben Rothlisburger was turning the ball twice. In the end, Allen and Co. came on top, winning 26-15 bills to improve to 10-3 and get to live comfortably in the AFC East.
Sunday night’s decision marks the second straight defeat for the Stilters, who started the 11-0 season in Week 13 before falling to the Washington Washington Football Team. Pittsburgh remain top of the AFC North, although second-ranked Cleveland Browns (9-3) will have a chance to pull in a game of lead on Monday night.
Here are some quick fixes from Sunday’s bill win:
Why the bills won
They may have the best quarterback-wide receiver connection on this side of Patrick Mahoms and Tyrick Hill. If that sounds like a nutshell, consider how Jots Allen and Stephen Diggs can easily cut through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense. Mike Tomlin’s team was just below Had Hayden, yes, but still – 10 catches for 130 yards and a score doesn’t even do Diggs justice, the way he got consistently wide-open space and made life easier on Allen. Bills QB, happy to see his own way, dodged Pittsburgh’s front-seven assault to play a seemingly clean game with big playoff implications.
Oh, and Buffalo’s own defense? Killer when it needed to be. Levi Valace Les and Taron Johnson both had big plays on the ball, Trey Davis White was delicate guessing on the outside, and the line really kept Ben Rothlisberger under pressure for most of the night. Total team victory here.
Why the Steelers lost
Dunk and Dunk offense – with receivers who can catch the ball or not, by the way – works better when you’re ahead in the game. The Steelers fell into a deep hole, however, lost an early 7-0 advantage and trailed 23-7 in the third quarter. At that point, Dionta Johnson’s drops, endless short-of-steaks routes, and Dead – non-arrival ground game made Pittsburgh’s offensive efforts disastrous. Ben Rothlisberger wasn’t terrific, but he spent more time covering the ball than he did, including stuffing pockets.
On the “D”, Joe Hayden wrote, the Steelers successfully pushed Josh Allen out of his pocket a few times, but that was it, failing to include Diggs and surrendering some of Devin’s single-run lead.
Turn
Second down. Steelers off. Fifty-two seconds to go in the first half. Pittsburgh was leading 7-3 at the time, with the opportunity to extend their advantage at break. But then Taron Johnson put a full break on the group Smith-Schuster’s short Rothlisburger pass and returned interception, easily blocking 511 yards for the score. TD not only gave Bills a permanent lead, but it completely flipped the first-half script in Buffalo’s favor.
Play the game
It should be Taron Johnson’s pick-six – a fully run swipe of Big Ben’s pass and a game changer of scores:
What’s next
Bill (10–3) will have a short week to prepare for the Denver Broncos (5–8), which beat the Panthers, and will hold a match on Saturday afternoon. The Steelers (11-2) will return to prime time on Monday night, December 21, when they visit rival Cincinnati Bengals (2-10-1), refreshing the Cowboys with a losing loss.
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