Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — A disastrous third quarter was more than enough to sink the Pittsburgh Steelers in their bid for an upset of the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
The Steelers led at halftime, but had one of the worst quarters of football in recent memory in the third period, yielding 13 points and all the momentum in what became a 26-7 Bills victory.
The disaster started on the first offensive play of the second quarter, when Aaron Rodgers ran a play-action pass, and was sacked by Joey Bosa. Rodgers fumbled, Buffalo cornerback Christian Benford recovered and returned it for a touchdown.
Rodgers left the game and went into the medical tent on the Pittsburgh sideline, while being treated for a cut across his nose. Mason Rudolph replaced him.
On the ensuing Pittsburgh possession, the Steelers had a 2nd and 6 at their own 36-yard line, when Rudolph overthrew tight end Darnell Washington, who was in the middle of triple coverage. The ball sailed straight to Benford for his second takeaway in a minute-and-a-half span.
Then Josh Allen and the Buffalo offense, who the Steelers defense had held to a field goal in the first half, finally took over. Allen and running back James Cook led the Bills into the red zone, when a 4th and 1 play hit pay dirt on a pass from Allen to Keon Coleman, giving Buffalo its first lead with 8:53 to play in the quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Rodgers returned, sporting a bandage across his nose. The offense went three and out after Kenneth Gainwell was stopped one-yard short on a 3rd and 8 draw.
The following drive carried over into the fourth quarter, but it was all Allen and Cook again. Buffalo marched 83 yards on 15 plays in 8:14, finishing with an 8-yard Allen keeper that put the Bills up 23-7.
Allen didn’t do much through the air, finishing a relatively pedestrian 15 of 23 for 123 yards, one touchdown and one interception. But he added 38 yards on eight carries, to go along with 144 yards on 32 carries for James Cook. Buffalo finished with 249 yards rushing.
The Steelers offense wasn’t able to manage much of anything all game. They gained just three total yards in that awful third quarter, and the other three weren’t much better. Rodgers finished 10 of 21 for 117 yards. The ground game never got going either, with Jaylen Warren limited to 35 yards on 10 carries.
The Steelers, now 6-6, will not have much time to lick their wounds, with a road trip to visit the co-leaders of the AFC North, the Baltimore Ravens, next Sunday, a game that has turned into a nearly must-win contest for the Steelers.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Disastrous Third Quarter Sinks Steelers vs. Bills, 26-7
