(Orchard Park) Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and set a team record with a 52-yard run for a touchdown, and the Buffalo Bills defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17 on Monday in a first-round matchup of the NFL playoffs.
The duel, originally scheduled for Sunday, was postponed by a day due to weather conditions.
Allen threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir with 6:27 remaining to restore the Bills’ two-game lead.
The Bills finished the regular season with five straight wins to clinch second place in the American. They will host Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, third in the Association, next Sunday in the second round.
The Bills lost at Kansas City in 2020 and 2021, and now will have the chance to turn things around by hosting the Chiefs on their home field.
Allen finished the game completing 21 of 30 passes for 203 yards. He also rushed for 74 yards on eight carries, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to throw at least three touchdown passes and have at least 70 rushing yards, in addition to a major, in a playoff game.
Mason Rudolph threw two touchdown passes in his first playoff start with the Steelers, but Mike Tomlin’s squad wasn’t consistent enough in both directions to compete against the Bills.
The Steelers have lost their fifth straight playoff game, while the team’s last victory was seven years ago.
The Bills scored the major on three of their first five offensive sequences, quickly building a 21-0 lead following Allen’s major midway through the second quarter.
The Steelers gave themselves a chance to get back into the game when they blocked a field goal attempt late in the second quarter, only to score a touchdown.