STEELERS DROP SECOND IN A ROW
Buffalo eventually rolled to a win, as drops and injuries continued to pile up for the Steelers, who also lost grip of the AFC’s top seed
Steelers running back Benny Snell picks up short yardage against the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at Bills Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. The Steelers were defeated, 26-15, for their second loss in a row. The loss dropped them from the top spot in the conference.
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The day started with the Steelers flying on game day for the first time in eight years. Then, before they even stepped on the field, they learned they clinched a playoff spot for the first time in three years.
But it ended with a short, disappointing flight home in which they lost something they’ve possessed for the past 12 weeks.
The Steelers lost more than a game to the AFC East Division -leading Buffalo Bills on Sunday night. They lost the No. 1 seed in the AFC and saw their division lead continue to shrink with a 26-15 defeat that has them headed in the wrong direction.
“Our mistakes have caught up to us,” said defensive end Cam Heyward. “We played like crap today, simple as that.”
It was the second loss in a row for the Steelers (11-2), who dropped behind the Kansas City Chiefs (12-1) for the best record in the AFC. In addition, it also gave the Chiefs the tiebreaker advantage if the teams would
finish tied at the end of the regular season.
While both teams have the same conference record (9-1) — the second tiebreaker after head-to-head competition — the Chiefs would win the next tiebreaker because they have a better record (50) than the Steelers (4-1) against common opponents. And there are no more common opponents in the final three weeks.
It also means the Bills (103) have crept closer to them for the No. 2 seed in the AFC with three games remaining. And, if the Cleveland Browns (9-3) beat the Baltimore Ravens Monday night, the Steelers’ lead in the AFC North will shrink to one game.
“We’re not hitting the panic button,” said quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said. “Offensively we’re not very good. We all need to look in the mirror. It starts with me. The way we’re playing now is unacceptable.”
The Steelers had already clinched a playoff spot — their first since the 2017 season — when the Miami Dolphins lost to the Chiefs earlier in the day.
But that didn’t carry over to the game against the Bills, even though the Steelers held a 7-0 lead for most of the first half. It was the third game in a row in which the offense failed to score more than two touchdowns.
“Just not enough plays,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “We got to score more points.”
“After [the first quarter], it all went to hell,” Heyward said. “We got to figure out
what we’re doing.”
It all started to unravel when Roethlisberger was intercepted for a 51-yard touchdown return by cornerback Taron Jackson in the final minute of the first half. Then the Bills came out and scored on their first two possessions of the second half to turn a 7-0 deficit into a 23-7 advantage.
“That pick-6 was the significant play,” Tomlin said.
The Steelers tried to fight back when Roethlisberger threw a 3-yard touchdown to JuJu Smith-Schuster and a 2-point conversion pass to
tight end Eric Ebron to make it 23-15 with 12:18 remaining. Roethlisberger completed 8 of 9 passes for 78 yards on the 10-play drive.
But it wasn’t enough to catch the Bills, especially after Roethlisberger threw his second interception of the night when he underthrew James Washington on a deep pass down the right sideline on the next possession. Roethlisberger finished 21 of 37 for 187 yards and a 65.9 passer rating, his lowest of the season.
“I’m not playing good enough football for us to
win,” Roethlisberger said. “If I don’t play good enough football I need to hang it up. I’m going to do everything I can to get back on track.”
The Steelers could not cover Bills receiver Stefon Diggs, who had 10 catches for 130 yards and a 19-yard touchdown — seven for 97 yards coming in the second half. And, after shutting down Bills quarterback Josh Allen in the first half, they gave up 162 yards passing and two touchdowns passes after halftime.
Allen completed his first 11 passes of the second half
— six to Diggs — for 117 yards and two touchdowns.
“He’s an MVP- quality player,” Tomlin said. “You’re not going to hold him down for 60 minutes. He figured some things out.”
The Steelers gave up a late field goal and Roethlisberger was intercepted for a 51-yard touchdown return in a span of 50 seconds to give the Bills a 9-7 halftime lead.
It wasted a strong defensive effort by the Steelers, who held Allen to 76 yards passing and the Bills to 34 yards rushing in the first half.
The Steelers used a lot of different looks to in an attempt to confuse Allen, who completed just 10 of 23 passes and was intercepted once by nickel back Mike Hilton. One of those was using one defensive lineman, four linebackers and six defensive backs on third down.
But, after kicker Tyler Bass converted a 34-yard field goal with 1:42 remaining to cut the Steelers’ lead to 7-3, Roethlisberger’s soft seconddown pass for JuJu Smith-Schuster was intercepted by Johnson and returned 51 yards for a touchdown with 52 seconds remaining. Bass missed the extra point.
The Bills padded the lead to 16-7 on the first possession of the second half when Allen threw a 19-yard touchdown to Diggs, who was wide open on a slant after cornerback Steve Nelson slipped and fell in coverage.
Then the Bills started to make it look easy. Allen had back-to-back completions of 22 and 19 yards to Diggs, who was repeatedly wide open in the secondary, to get to the
Steelers 16. Two plays later, Allen connected with receiver Gabriel Davis for a 13yard touchdown in front of safety Minkah Fitzpatrick to make it 23-7.
The Steelers started Avery Williamson and Marcus Allen for the first time at inside linebacker because Vince Williams was on the Reserve/Covid-19 list and Robert Spillane was on injured reserve. They were also playing without cornerback Joe Haden (concussion).
The offense lost guard Matt Feiler in the first quarter when he injured his pectoral muscle, according to Tomlin, and did not return. His replacement, rookie Kevin Dotson, left the game in the third quarter with a similar injury and did not return. That type of injury can be long-lasting, if not seasonending.
The Steelers got on the board first when Roethlisberger threw a 19- yard touchdown to Washington with 8:21 remaining in the second quarter — three plays after the Bills tight end Dawson Knox fumbled after a catch and cornerback Cam Sutton recovered at the Bills 30. The fumble was forced by Mike Hilton.
Washington was playing for Diontae Johnson, who, as Mike Tomlin promised, was benched after dropping a pass on each of the first two series.
Tyson Alualu’s sack in the second quarter gave the Steelers a sack in 70 consecutive games, breaking the former NFL record of 69 held by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1999-2003). It was their only sack of the game.