Steelers 17-31 Bills, summary: score, stats, highlights | NFL Wild Card

Goodnight!

That'll do it for tonight, folks! Thanks for following along and we hope you enjoyed this live coverage of the Steelers at Bills Wild Card playoff game. 

Don't forget to follow along with Dane as he takes you through the Eagles @ Buccaneers LIVE! 

Butttt then THIS happened

Wow wow wow

Austin's TD nearly led a comeback for the Steelers

The Steelers came closer than they had been all game after this score

Time for some second-half highlights...

BILLS take the win!

Rudolph scrambles up for 10 yards to get the 1st down but that'll run out the clock and the Bills will go on to the Divisional Round!

Rudolph throws deep to Johnson in the end zone but it's incomplete - 3rd and 10

Rudolph scrambles for 3 yards but there's an Illegal Substitution on Steelers' Austin - 5 yards, 2nd and 10 

Rudolph pass complete to Harris for just 5 and the clock keeps ticking...

Roughing the Passer on Bills' Oliver - automatic 1st down for Steelers

Rudolph escapes a sack but throws it away 

Rudolph spikes it to stop the clock - 2nd and 10

Rudolph pass caught by Freiermuth for 15 yards - 1st and 10 at the 50

Rudolph under pressure from Oliver and he throws it away - 3rd and 10

Rudolph pass incomplete to Austin - 2nd and 10

They go quick and Harris gets 10 for the 1st 

Rudolph pass complete to Heyward for 5

Steelers take over at the 20

Oooooff, Bass' 27-yard field goal attempt goes WAY left, NO GOOD

TWO-MINUTE WARNING

With 2 minutes left in the game, the Bills are up 31-17 and have the ball at the Steelers 8. It's 4th and goal so they'll go for the field goal when they come back.

Johnson gets nowhere, swallowed up by Rowe - 4th and goal

Steelers take final timeout

Johnson takes it up 3 yards - 3rd and goal at the 8

Heyward knocks down Johnson for a loss of 2 - 2nd and goal at the 11

Johnson takes it up 11 yards to the Steelers 9. - 1st and goal

Steelers take second timeout

Johnson taken down by Ogunjobi - no gain, 2nd and 10

Johnson takes it up 3, then 9 - 1st down

Rudolph pass incomplete to Pickens and they're looking for the interference call as Jackson pulled him down a liiiiittle early but no flag comes - that'll be a turnover on downs. Bills take over at the Steelers 32.

Bills take first timeout

Rudolph gets the pass away just as he's hit and it's caught by Warren but there's no gain - 4th and 3 and the Steelers will go for it...

Steelers take first timeout

Warren gets nowhere on the first play, then it's Rudolph to Freiermuth for 7 yards - 3rd and 3

Touchback

Wow! It looked like Shakir was down before the 1st down but he stayed on his feet and got away to the end zone 17yards. Bass' PAT was good and the Bills take back a big lead with 6:27 left in the game.

Cook takes it just a yard - 2nd and 9

Unnecessary Roughness on Steelers' Jack - 15 yards, automatic 1st down at the Steelers 18 

Allen scrambles up the middle and he's hit after the fall and the flags are thrown

Allen pass to Diggs for 5 - 2nd and 5

Allen runs it up himself for 13 yards and another 1st down

Cook gets 3 for the 1st down

Cook bursts through for 9 yards - 2nd and 1

Allen pass incomplete to Kincaid? But it's thrown out of bounds.

The penalty flag was thrown as a Holding call on Steelers' Jack and it's a 5-yard penalty, automatic 1st down for Bills

Boswell kicks 70 yards from Steelers 20 to Bills 10 and Isabella takes it up 20 yards to the Bills 30

 Unnecessary Roughness on Steelers' Moore - 15 yards, enforced between downs

And suddenly, we have a game!

Rudolph makes the pass to Austin for 7 yards in the end zone. Boswell's PAT is good and the Steelers look to catch up to the Bills with plenty of time - still 10:32 still left to play.

Harris gets a short gain of 2 - 2nd and goal at the 5

Rudolph pass caught by Johnson and he pushes forward for the 1st down - 1st and goal at the Bills 7

Rudolph passes deep in the end zone to Pickens and it's incomplete - 3rd and 7

Harris takes it up 3 yards - 2nd and 7

Rudolph pass complete to Johnson and he cuts up for 11 yards and the 1st down at the Bills 20

Rudolph scrambles up the middle and slides for the 1st down after 6 yards

Warren picks up 5 up the middle - 2nd and 5

END THIRD QUARTER

And that brings us to the end of the 3rd quarter.

The Bills are up 24-10 after their last field goal, but the Steelers are at 1st down on the Bills 42 with a full quarter left to come back.

It's Rudolph to Pickens again for another 15yards and another 1st down

Rudolph has Lewis on his legs but he gets the ball away to Pickens for 19 yards - 1st down

Rudolph under pressure, throws it away, incomplete - 3rd and 11

Another injury...Steelers' Robinson was injured on the play

Williams takes Robinson down for a loss of 1 - 2nd and 11

Bass kicks 61 yards from Bills 35 to Steelers and Warren calls the Fair Catch

Bass' 45-yard field goal is good this time after the blocked one earlier in the game. Bills took over 7 minutes to get down the field and couldn't get it into the end zone, but they've made it a 14-point game with a minute and a half in the third.

BILLS FIELD GOAL!

Allen pass to Murray is only good for 4 and they'll try for a field goal

Ogunjobi takes Cook back 2 yards - 3rd and 12

Allen passes deep in the end zone to Kincaid and Roberts breaks it up at the last second - incomplete, 2nd down

Steelers' Porter was injured during the play

Allen scrambles up, makes the pass to Diggs and it's CAUGHT for 12 yards and the 1st down at the Steelers 29

Allen pass incomplete to Johnson - 3rd and 9

Another injured Bill - McGovern is down on the field

Benton takes Cook down after a yard - 2nd and 9

Allen pass complete to Kincaid for 10 yards and the 1st down

Cook gets a yard, stopped by Highsmith - 2nd down

This time Allen gets it on the tush push. Heyward tried to stop him but Allen was pushed forward - 1st down

Allen tries to push up through the left but it's no good - 4th and 1. 

Bills go for it...

Cook again, gets 4 and it's 3rd and 1

It's Cook again and he's good for 5 - 2nd and 5 at the Bills 41

Cook finds the hole, takes it up 11 yards - 1st down

Touchback

The Steelers get down the field but the Bills defense keeps them out of the end zone. Boswell (as always) kicks a perfect field goal from 40 yards out. Steelers trail by 11 withe 8:50 left in the third quarter.

STEELERS FIELD GOAL!

Rudolph passes deep and it's knocked away by Hyde, incomplete. Steelers will try for a field goal.

Harris gets just a yard and then he's swallowed up by Lawson and Elam on the next play for no gain - 3rd and 9

Warren pushes through for 6 yards and the 1st down

Rudolph to Freiermuth complete for 10 yards - 2nd and 5

False Start on Steelers' Washington - 5 yards, 1st and 15

This time Pickens makes the pass for 10 yards and the 1st down

Rudolph pass incomplete to Pickens, nearly intercepted by Elam - 2nd down

Bills' Bernard was injured during the play - carted off the field with what looks like a possible right ankle injury

Rudolph deep pass to Johnson for 19 yards - 1st down

False Start on Steelers' Washington - 5 yards

Martin punts 45 yards to Steelers 28 and Austin takes it up 12 yards to the Steelers 40.

Allen's pass caught by Murray but it's only good for 9 - Bills punt at 4th down and 8

Allen SACKED by Highsmith for a loss of 7 - 3rd and 17

Allen pass to Knox is dropped, incomplete - 2nd down

And we're back!

Starting off with a touchback. Here comes the Bills offense.

And the Steelers are on the board

Steelers finally make it a game with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Diontae Johnson after the blocked FG gives them an opportunity.

Steelers get a big break with this blocked field goal

Josh Allen makes 2nd-longest scoring run by a quarterback in NFL playoff history

52 YARDS!

Elam makes the interception in the end zone

Bills score immediately after the fumble

Allen to Kincaid - 29 yards

Pickens fumbles the ball and gives it back to Bills

Bills scored on their first drive - Dawson Knox

HALFTIME

Allen kneels to run out the clock and that'll take us to the half. Buffalo leads 21-7 but the Steelers managed to get a score before the half ended to stay in the game.

The Bills will get the ball on offense to start the second half when we come back.

Steelers take first timeout

Allen SACKED by Golden for a loss of 7 - 2nd and 17

Allen pass complete to Shakir for 9 yards - 1st down

Diggs is able to get up but he jogs to the sidelines

Allen pass to Diggs for 5 yards but he's slow to get up - a big blow to Buffalo

Touchback

The Steelers finally get some points on the board just in time for the half. The blocked punt gave them a chance and they took it. Rudolph's pass to Johnson for 10 yards in the end zone gave them their first touchdown of the game and Boswell's PAT is good. Steelers trail with 1:39 left in the first half.

Bills take final timeout

Warren stopped by Klein after 3 - 2nd and 7

Rudolph gets it to Pickens for 5 yards and the 1st at the Bills 13

Bills take second timeout

Rudolph tosses it to Pickens and he's taken down by Klein after 6 yards - 2nd and 4

TWO-MINUTE WARNING

Rudolph hands it off to Warren and he drives it up 10 yards for the 1st down at the Bills 23 to take the clock down to the 2-minute warning.

Bass' FG attempt is BLOCKED by Adams and RECOVERED by Steelers' Herbig at the Bills 33

Herbig put the pressure on Allen and the pass is incomplete - 4th down and they go for the field goal

Allen pass incompletet to Johnson - 3rd down and 7

Cook takes it up 3 - 2nd and 7

Allen tosses it to Harty and he pumps up the speed for 33 yards all the way to the Steelers 34

Johnson pushes through the pile for 4 yards and gets the 1st

Cook runs it up for another 4 on the next play - 3rd and 2

Allen pass to Cook is caught for 4 yards - 2nd and 6

Harvin punts 50 yards to Bills 22 and it's downed by Boykin

Rudolph gets the ball away but Oliver was all over him and it's incomplete - 4th down

Rudolph pass to Washington is dropped - incomplete, 3rd and 8

Harris gets 2 yards - 2nd and 8

Touchback

ALLEN took off himself for a 52-YARD TOUCHDOWN! Bills extend the lead with 7:01 to go in the first half after Bass' PAT.

Cook gets 2 - 3rd and 8

Allen pass incomplete to Isabella - 2nd and 10

Cook takes it up the middle 4 yards - 1st down

Cook runs it up 9 yards, slammed down by Robinson - 2nd and 1

Allen pass complete to Diggs for 7 yards - 1st down

Cook taken down quick again, this time by Rowe after 3 - 3rd and 5

Cook takes it up 2 yards, stopped by Ogunjobi and Heyward

Touchback

Rudolph pass INTERCEPTED by Elam in the end zone! 

Harris is pushed back a yard by Oliver and Joseph - 2nd and goal

Pass Interference on Bills' Elam - automatic 1st down for Steelers - 1st and goal at the Bills 3

Rudolph pass incomplete in the end zone

Warren taken down by Bernard after a yard - 2nd and 9 at the Bills 12

Rudolph narrowly escapes another sack, gets it away to Freiermuth and he makes the 1st down with 12 yards

Warren takes it up 12 yards - 3rd and 8

Rudolph is SACKED by Rousseau for a loss of 11 yards - 2nd and 21, ouch

Harris takes it up 11 yards for the 1st down and then some

END FIRST QUARTER

And the clock ticks down to zero in the first quarter.

Bills lead 14-0 and Steelers have the ball on 2nd and 1 at the Bills 37 to start the 2nd quarter.

Harris finally gets some ground - 9 yards to the Bills 37

Rudolph passes to Robinson and it's caught for 13 yards

The ruling on the field stands - FUMBLE, recovered OUT OF BOUNDS.

The Bills lose a timeout and are out of challenges.

Rudolph makes a bullet pass to Freiermouth and he catches but then fumbles it and it's recovered by Bills. The question is, did he fumble in bounds or out?? The ruling was that it was a fumble recovered out of bounds, but Bills are challenging it. Play is under review.

Martin punts 52 yards to Steelers 8, and Austin calls for the Fair Catch 

Allen's pass to Cook is caught, but Fitzpatrick makes the tackle for a loss of 4 yards. At 4th and 14, Bills will punt.

Allen's pass is low and incomplete to Kincaid with pressure on by Heyward - 3rd and 10

Allen tosses left to Diggs but there's no gain, stopped by Heyward - 2nd down

Harvin punts 30 yards to Bills 44 and Harty calls the Fair Catch

Rudolph makes the pass to Pickens and it's deflected by Bernard. Looked like an interception for a second there when Hyde picked it up, but nope. Steelers at 4th and 9 and they punt it.

Rudolph's pass batted away by Oliver - 3rd and 9

The Bills defense isn't letting the Steelers' run game gain any ground - Rousseau makes the stop on Warren after a yard

Touchback

The Steelers fumble it, the Bills recover it, and Allen IMMEDIATELY tosses a bullet right into the end zone for a touchdown, a 29-yard frozen rope to Kincaid. Bass' PAT is good and the Bills extend the lead with 4:10 still to go in the 1st quarter.

The ruling is overturned - it's called a FUMBLE, recovered by Bills' Bernard at the Steelers 29

Rudolph passes to Pickens but he fumbles the ball. It was ruled as incomplete but Buffalo is challenging it. Play is under review to see if he was down before he loses the ball...

Fans having fun in the snow!

Martin punts 47 yards to Steelers 18, out of bounds

Allen pass incomplete to Kincaid - 4th and 2 at the 35. Bills will punt.

Allen dodges away from a sack and scrambles up for 8 yards - 3rd and 2

Allen tosses deep to Diggs but he can't quite make the catch - incomplete, 2nd down

Harvin punts 42 yards to the Bills 27, downed by Boykin

This time the Steelers try passing but he's under pressure and it's incomplete. They go 3 and out again and punt it away on their second drive.

Harris isn't getting anywhere fast. Buffalo takes him down after 2 and Steelers are at 3rd and 5.

Harris gets just 3 before he's stopped by Williams and Joseph - 2nd and 7

Touchback

The Bills surged down the field on their opening drive 80 yards in 10 plays, ending with a perfect pass from Allen to Knox 9 yards into the end zone for the touchdown. Bass' PAT is good and the Bills take the early lead with 7:02 to go in the 1st quarter.

Cook gets 3 this time - 2nd and 7

The Bills are just charging down the field! Cook pushes through for another 12 yards and the 1st down at the Steelers 12

Allen pass to Diggs is caught with him wide open and he surges forward for 12 yards and another 1st down

Cook pushes through for 4 yards - 2nd and 6

Allen tosses it to Diggs and he surges up for 10yards and another 1st down at the Steelers 40

Allen tosses deep to rookie Kincaid and he makes a beautiful catch for 20 yards - 1st down

Allen takes it over the top himself just enough for the 1st down

Cook takes it up the middle but he's just short - 3rd and 1

The Bills offense has taken the field and they start off with an Allen pass to Shakir for 5 yards - 2nd and 5

Harvin punts 30 yards to the Bills 21 and Harty calls for the Fair Catch

Rudolph's pass is way too high and it's incomplete. The Steelers will punt it back. 

Rudolph pass is deflected by Bernard, incomplete - 3rd and 8

Harris gets 2 - 2nd and 8 to the Steelers 49 as Spector and Floyd knock him down

Rudolph tosses it left to Warren and he dodges through for 15 yards to the 47 and the 1st down

Najee Harris starts the Steelers off with a short run of 2 yards - 2nd and 8

Bass kicks 56 yards from the Bills 35 to the Steelers 9 and Warren takes it 21 yards to the 30. Here comes Mason Rudolph.

GAME TIME!

And we're off!

The Bills have won the toss and elected to defer.

The Steeler will start us off on offense in today's Wild Card game. 

Let's go!

T-2 minutes!

We're getting close to kickoff in this frigid stadium and WE ARE READY!

Former teammates Tomlin and McDermott

Another fun storyline heading into the Bills-Steelers game is the fact that Bills head coach Sean McDermott and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin used to be college football teammates at William & Mary back in 1993 and 1994. 

Now that they're coaching in the NFL, it's McDermott who holds the lead over Tomlin with a 3-1 record against him. 

In fact, there are some other William & Mary alum on the coaching staff for the Steelers and Bills. Buffalo's interim OC Joe Brady was a wide receiver in his day and Steelers special teams coach Denny Smith worked as an assistant at the university,

The fans don't seem to mind the snow!

Mason Rudolph - it's all up to you, no pressure

After leading the Steelers on a three-game win streak to enter the playoffs, Mason Rudolph replaced Kenny Pickett as the starting quarterback and will be today's trusted starter in the playoffs. Let's take a look at how he earned that role.

Rudolph went 53 of 71 for 716 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions in his three victories to end the season. He's 8-4-1 as a starter in the league and this will be his first time starting in an NFL playoff game. When he played for Oklahoma State back in 2017, he led them to victory over Virginia Tech in the college postseason. But he said he treats every game in the professional league as a playoff game.

“As a backup quarterback most of my career, you’re very urgent," said Rudolph. "There’s a sense of urgency whenever you get to play, so that’s the approach.”

Things happened throughout the season that kind of shows you the will to win is real. And we’re going to continue to be resilient. We don’t really have a choice at this point.”

Now that's what you call dedicated fans!

Bills' home-field advantage

The Bills' record in home playoff game looks good going into today's game. They are 4-1 at home in the postseason since 2020. 

Josh Allen performs quite well under the pressure of the postseasn, throwing at least three touchdown passes and 300 receiving yards in three of their last four playoff games. At home, he averages 290.8 passing yards per game.

At home in the playoffs. the Bills offense is averaging 27 points per game with 369.4 total yards per game and scoring touchdowns on 76.5% of their trips to the red zone. On the defensive side, since 2020, they have allowed just 20.4 points per game, 352 yards per game, with five interceptions and 12 sacks in five home playoff games.

Bills vs Steelers: Players to watch in today's Wild Card match

Stefon Diggs

The Bills wide receiver caught 107 passes for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns in the regular season. His best game came in Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins when he caught six passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns.

Diontae Johnson

The Steelers receiver finished the regular season with 51 receptions for 717 yards and five touchdowns. He made a touchdown catch in four of the last six games of the season and finished with 51 catches, marking his fifth straight season of 50+ catches and fourth total with five or more touchdowns.

Terrel Bernard

The Bills linebacker led the defense in tackles with 143 in the regular season, with 84 of those being solo tackles. He added onto that 6.5 sacks for 32 yards and 10 tackles, five pass breakups, three interceptions, and three fumble recoveries. He's a threat to any offense who goes against him.

Elandon Roberts

The Steelers have a defensive weapon of their own to look out for. Linebacker Elandon Roberts led the team with 101 tackles, his second straight season with 100+ tackles. It's his first season with Pittsburgh, but even before joining, Roberts was making tackles with the Dolphins. In his career, he's made 34 tackles in the postseason (in 11 games) and 558 in 123 regular-season games with 330 of those being solo tackles.

Minkah Fitzpatrick don't need no stinkin' sleeves

These northerners are built different, I tell you what.

With windchills that feel like 0 degrees Farenheit, Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was on the field casually strolling around with no sleeves. He was one of the first to take the field for the pregame as he makes his comeback from a knee injury in time for the playoffs.

The show must go on!

Buffalo Bills/Pittsburgh Steelers News:

Why would the Broncos pass on Josh Allen in the NFL Draft? What will the new Bills Stadium look like? What happened with Kenny Pickett and T.J. Watt? 

Read up for answers to those questions and more news on the Bills and Steelers.

Bills-Steelers INACTIVES for Wild Card Weekend

The Bills and Steelers have released their official inactives lists for today's Wild Card matchup.

Steelers Inactives

QB Mitch Trubisky (3rd QB)
CB Darius Rush
S Elijah Riley
LB Blake Martinez
T Dylan Cook
LB T.J. Watt
DE DeMarvin Leal

Bills Inactives

WR Gabe Davis
S Taylor Rapp
LB Tyrel Dodson
CB Rasul Douglas
DE Kingsley Jonathan
OL Alec Anderson
DT Poona Ford

Bills-Steelers historically...

The Steelers hold the winning record overall against the Bills, having won 17 of 29 matchups in their history.

That being said, Pittsburgh's last win over Buffalo was in 1996. The Bills are looking to keep up the late trend and move on to their first-ever Super Bowl victory.

Let's talk football

All right, enough about the snow! Let's get into some game talk, shall we?

Quarterback roulette

The Steelers ended the regular season at 10-7, and did so with 1...2...3 different starting quarterbacks. With Kenny Pickett sidelined due to an ankle injury, the team then leaned on Mitch Trubusky, but benched him in their Week 15 loss to the Colts and instead put in third string Mason Rudolph. 

Rudolph led the team to a three-game winning streak to end the season and made sure of their spot in the post season. It'll be no easy task facing this Buffalo Bills team today though.

Buffalo is cold, but Bills are hot

The Bills ended their season on a win-streak, too - of five games. The start to the season was a little rocky but by the end, they were AFC East champions and No. 2 in the AFC overall.

Although quarterback Josh Allen has continued to make some errors, lately he's been looking like his old self both in rushing and passing. 

The weather will play a part in today's game, leveling the playing field a bit. It's going to be an entertaining Wild Card game.

Some of the images of Highmark Stadium ahead of today's Wild Card game vs the Pittsburgh Steelers

Speaking of snow...

The fans are to thank for clearing out the Bills Stadium and making it a playable game today!

The Bills and Steelers organizations together with Jani-King cleaning company asked fans to come in and help shovel the snow from the field from midnight to this afternoon.

In exchange, they offered $20 per hour and breakfast and beverages to the helpers. And they got the job done! Fans truly are the reason for the game!

Ufff...like I said...BRRR!

NFL

What’s the weather forecast in Buffalo for the Bills - Steelers game on Monday?

The Bills-Steelers game was supposed to happen yesterday, but the weather had other plans. Check out the forecast for the game today. It's cleared up on the field, but....brrrr.

Welcome!

Good afternoon everyone! Welcome to our LIVE coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills Wild Card playoff game!

It's Jen here to bring you all the pre-game buildup, live game scores, stats, highlights, and commentary, plus the aftermath following the game.

Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m. ET from Highmark Stadium, where fans have been shoveling snow all morning to get it ready for the game after it was postponed due to heavy snowfall. The stadium is clear but it's a chilly day here in Buffalo so bundle up!