The Buffalo Bills took down the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17 in their Wild Card matchup.
While the Steelers put together a solid comeback attempt, the Bills’ early lead was too much for Pittsburgh to overcome. Although his team came away with the win, Bills WR Stefon Diggs failed to reach the 100-yard mark for the 12th straight game.
Diggs Fails To Reach 100 Yards Again
Back in December, Diggs expressed frustrations with a lack of targets when his 100-yard game drought began.
“It’s frustrating,” Diggs said. “I gotta do a lot of things to get open, and then a lot of things gotta go right to get the ball. So for me when it doesn’t happen, of course, I’m frustrated. Y’all know how much of a competitor I am. I like to play at a high level, and I always want it to happen.
“And even if it doesn’t when it doesn’t materialize, I definitely get a little discouraged at a moment, but then I shake — gotta shake back — because I know my team still needs me.”
The #Bills are headed to the Divisional Round, where they'll take on the #Chiefs — and they'll need all firepower possible.
Can the streak of 12 straight games of Stefon Diggs being held under 100 receiving yards be snapped?
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Since the Buffalo Bills’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 12, Diggs has not exceeded 50 receiving yards in a single game after starting the season with five games with at least 100 receiving yards in the season’s first six games.
He then put up 87 yards in their matchup against the Miami Dolphins, including a key 36-yard shot from Josh Allen that set up the Bills’ first touchdown in their 21-14 win.
“It was cool. I’ve been trying to just stay at the same level,” Diggs said after practice Wednesday. “I had an okay game. I’ve had better games, so I didn’t really think too much of it. I’ve just been steadfast, staying in the right mindset, trying to be a good teammate, trying to lead my team the right way and stack these wins.”
While he failed to crack the 100-yard mark again, he said he is not surprised that other Bills receivers are stepping up in big moments.
“I get more excited seeing other guys have success than myself because, with myself, I expect success. I expect success with those guys, I expect them to make plays. When they make those huge plays, I’m like ‘alright, you’re coming along,” Diggs said.
In the Wild Card matchup against the Steelers, Diggs brought in seven receptions for 52 yards, averaging 7.4 yards per catch.
TE Dalton Kincaid put up the most receiving yards for the Bills, as he brought in three receptions for 59 yards.
The Bills ended up beating the Steelers in a game delayed a day by a blizzard. Now, they will get to face the Kansas City Chiefs team that knocked them out of the playoffs after both the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Buffalo held a 21-0 lead midway through the second quarter, but by the fourth quarter, the Steelers had cut the lead to 24-17.
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Late in the fourth quarter, Bills WR Khalil Shakir caught a short pass, broke Minkah Fitzpatrick’s tackle, and eluded defenders to make it to the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown, sealing the deal for the Bills.
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