Devlin Hodges throws 4 interceptions, Steelers lose at home to Bills

With two games remaining, the Pittsburgh Steelers still hold onto the last playoff spot in the AFC. That’s one consolation that came out of an otherwise unsatisfying performance Sunday night at Heinz Field when the Steelers failed to grab onto a higher seeding.

The Steelers couldn’t protect a three-point second-half lead and dropped a 17-10 decision to the Buffalo Bills, denying them a chance to take over the No. 5 spot in the playoff chase.

The Bills scored the final 10 points on a night when the Steelers committed five turnovers, including four interceptions by rookie quarterback Devlin Hodges. The final two interceptions came in the end zone inside the final two minutes.

“Man, we know how to make it hard,” defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said. “It’s as simple as that. I know we’re in good playoff position, but crap doesn’t matter when you lose these games. These are critical games.

“We have to think this is the last time we lose.”

Thanks to Tennessee’s loss to Houston, the Steelers (8-6) cling to the No. 6 spot and control their playoff fate.

In order to advance to January, they’ll have to win on the road, finishing the regular season with games at the New York Jets and Baltimore Ravens. They hold the tiebreaker over the Titans (8-6).

“We have to win these next two,” outside linebacker Bud Dupree said. “We have to treat them like playoff games, like we did this one.”

The loss ended the Steelers’ three-game winning streak and was just their second in the past nine games. It also was the first loss for Hodges in four NFL starts.

Hodges threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to James Conner that gave the Steelers a 10-7 lead early in the third quarter. But for the sixth time in the past seven games, the offense produced just one touchdown. The Steelers had just 64 yards in the first half and a season-low 229 for the game.

“We have to support our defense a whole lot better offensively, that’s for sure,” guard Ramon Foster said. “That’s one of the things I take away from it. … They are playing lights out and we have to do our job a whole lot better across the board.”

After throwing no more than one interception in any of his previous games, Hodges was picked off four times.

The second interception set up the tying field goal early in the fourth quarter, and the final two came with 1 minute, 54 seconds and 0:06 remaining, respectively.

“It’s disappointing right now, obviously,” Hodges said. “You hate to lose, but I think after the first loss, how you respond is going to define who I am.”

Coach Mike Tomlin wouldn’t commit to Hodges starting over Mason Rudolph next Sunday against the Jets.

“I’m not getting into that, guys,” Tomlin said. “We just lost a football game. I’m not going to make an announcement every week or every time I stand in front of you guys in terms of who is playing quarterback or any other position for that matter.”

Hodges threw a career-high 38 passes, completing 23, for a 43.9 passer rating. He was sacked four times.

Perhaps the most costly interception was his second. With the Steelers leading 10-7 late in the third quarter, they had a first down at the Buffalo 43. Hodges took a shot down the right sideline, but cornerback Tre’Davious White stepped in front of Diontae Johnson and returned the ball 49 yards to the Steelers 19. It set up Stephen Hauschka’s tying 36-yard field goal with 12:23 left in the game.

“That was all me,” Hodges aid. “I threw it inside. That’s a sideline route. That’s a catch, toe-tap and get out of bounds. I just left it inside, just a bad throw.”

Bills quarterback Josh Allen, meantime, ran for a touchdown and threw for the go-ahead score with 7:55 remaining. That touchdown was set up by a 40-yard completion to John Brown on the first play of the series.

The Bills (10-4), who clinched a playoff berth with the win, turned the ball over twice, but the Steelers produced no points after their takeaways.

After Allen’s 14-yard touchdown pass put Buffalo ahead, 17-10, Hodges led two late drives into Bills territory. The first one ended with safety Jordan Poyer picking off a fourth-and-7 throw intended for Deon Cain in the end zone.

The Steelers got the ball back with 1:31 left. A facemask penalty pushed the ball into Buffalo territory, and the Steelers had a first down at the Buffalo 26 with 39 seconds left.

Hodges was sacked for an 8-yard loss, then with the clock running inside 15 seconds, he looked for James Washington in the end zone. Cornerback Levi Wallace got to the ball instead to complete the quartet of interceptions thrown by Hodges.

The Steelers also lost a fumble in the red zone late in the first half after Steve Nelson’s first interception of the season put the ball at the Bills 20. On first down at the 10, Conner took the snap out of the wildfat formation and handed to Johnson, who lost control of the ball after a two-yard gain.

Poyer recovered, and the Bills took a 7-3 advantage into intermission.

“It’s just unfortunate,” Tomlin said. “It’s how it goes.”