The Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers faced off on the first game of Wild Card Weekend’s Monday slate. In the end, the Bills came out on top 31-17, earning their sixth straight victory.
With the win, the Bills are officially set to face the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. How’d they do it?
Bills Advance To Face Super Bowl Champions
The game started completely one-sided, with it looking like the Bills would run away with it. Thanks to two tight end touchdowns (Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid), the Bills had a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The early domination didn’t stop there either. A Kaiir Elam end-zone interception led to a Josh Allen 52-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Bills a 21-0 lead. The Steelers did, however, add their first points of the game with 1:39 left in the game thanks to a 10-yard Diontae Johnson touchdown reception.
Kaiir Elam picks it off in the end zone for Buffalo 🔥
📺: #PITvsBUF on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/rnjmj1Pg4j pic.twitter.com/TKW0kThk6g— NFL (@NFL)
The second half was a different story, but it was still too even for the Steelers to overcome the deficit. Both teams exchanged field goals in the third quarter and exchanged touchdowns in the fourth. Khalil Shakir scored a late touchdown that put the game nearly out of reach.
At one point in the season, the Bills had just a five percent chance to make the playoffs. However, their late-season push was enough to get them in, with a Week 18 victory over the Miami Dolphins even giving them the AFC East division title.
“We’ve got a resilient group,” said Allen when asked how the Bills did it. “I think it’s unmatched in the league … I don’t think you get that most places.”
Allen finished the game having passed 21 of 30 for 203 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions. He also carried the ball eight times for 74 yards and a touchdown. According to Next Gen Stats, Allen’s 52-yard touchdown had just a 0.2% touchdown probability and included 42 rush yards over expected with a top speed of 19.33 mph.
The Bills’ defense played a key role in the win as well as the offense. However, the defense was struck by injuries all season and that didn’t stop on Monday. Terrel Bernard, Christian Benford, Baylon Spector, and others all suffered injuries during the game.
Additionally, Taylor Rapp, Tyrel Dodson, Rasul Douglas and others were missing coming into the game. Star players Matt Milano and Tre’Davious White missed a majority of the season.
A.J. Klein, Elam, Dorian Williams, and many others all stepped up in the absence of players who suffered injuries. “It’s next man up,” said safety Jordan Poyer. “It was a huge play,” said safety Micah Hyde of Elam’s interception.
“Guys stepping up, injuries happen,” said Allen. “It’s nice knowing we have guys to step up when we need them.”
The Bills’ matchup against Kansas City will be a rematch of the 2021 AFC Championship Game. In that game, the Chiefs defeated the Bills 42-36 in overtime. It was the game where Patrick Mahomes infamously led the Chiefs down the field in 13 seconds to score and tie the game up.
The main difference between the 2021 matchup and 2023 will be who has home-field advantage. The Bills had to travel to Kansas City in 2021, but they will now host the Chiefs for the first away playoff game in Mahomes’ career.
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Now, the Bills will move their focus to the Divisional Round. The matchup between the Chiefs and Bills will take place on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 6:30 p.m. ET. The Wild Card matchup was postponed due to a snow storm, but the weather is expected to be better for the Divisional Round, with temperatures in the 20s.
Want to predict the results of the 2023 NFL postseason with our FREE NFL Playoff Predictor? How about looking into in-depth breakdowns of team depth charts or the NFL playoff schedule? Pro Football Network has you covered with all that and more!
