Rodgers' return doesn't help as Bills send Steelers to 5th loss in past 7 games

Aaron Rodgers’ return from a left wrist injury didn’t provide the jolt the Pittsburgh Steelers were seeking Sunday. Instead, it was a jolt to Rodgers that awakened the Buffalo Bills and sent the Steelers to another loss.

Rodgers lost a fumble after being sacked from behind on the first play of the second half, and the Bills returned the loose ball for a momentum-changing touchdown that lifted them to a 26-7 victory at Acrisure Stadium.

The Steelers were leading 7-3 when Rodgers coughed up the ball as he was being sacked, and Christian Benford returned it 17 yards for a score.

Joey Bosa’s hit sent Rodgers out of the game for a series with a cut on his nose, and by the time the four-time MVP quarterback returned, the Bills (8-4) were well on their way to handing the Steelers (6-6) their fifth loss in the past seven games. The loss also knocked the Steelers back into a first-place tie with Baltimore in the AFC North heading into next Sunday’s meeting with the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

In four of the Steelers’ six losses, they held a lead at halftime. In another loss, they were ahead 10-0 in the first quarter before crumbling. The Steelers never recovered from the Rodgers sack, giving up 23 unanswered points in the second half, leading to “Fire Tomlin” chants from paid crowd of 66,068.

Wearing a protective brace over his fractured left wrist, Rodgers returned to the starting lineup after a one-game absence. Rodgers worked exclusively out of the pistol formation — he did not take one snap from under center — and struggled with his accuracy.

Rodgers completed 6 of 14 passes for 54 yards through three quarters, and the Steelers had 90 yards total offense heading into the fourth. Rodgers finished 10 of 21 for 117 yards.

Without rookie Derrick Harmon anchoring the interior of the defensive line, the Steelers gave up 249 yards rushing, including 144 to James Cook. And despite the fact Buffalo was missing its starting tackles, the Steelers didn’t get a sack on Josh Allen. This came a week after Allen was sacked eight times in Buffalo’s loss to Houston.

By deferring after winning the coin toss, the Steelers got the ball first to open the second half. It was the sixth time this season they got the ball coming back out of the locker room. On the previous five drives, four ended with a punt, and the other possession ended with Rodgers throwing an interception.

This time, the damage was worse. On the first snap from scrimmage, Bosa came rushing from Rodgers’ blind side, hit the quarterback and dislodged the ball. Benford scooped the ball at the 17 and scored easily to give Buffalo a 10-7 lead just 16 seconds into the third quarter.

Rodgers headed into the medical tent after the play, and Mason Rudolph relieved him on the next series. Rudolph overthrew Darnell Washington on his second pass, and Benford intercepted at the Buffalo 44.

The Bills increased their lead to 16-7 when Allen deftly executed a fourth-and-goal from the 1. Allen sidestepped a leaping Brandin Echols and found Keon Coleman in the back of the end zone for the touchdown. It came after Cook broke off a 31-yard run to the Steelers 7.

Matt Prater missed the extra point, keeping the deficit at nine points.

Rodgers returned for the next series, and the Steelers went three and out.

The Bills responded with a 15-play, 83-yard march to the end zone, converted a fourth-and-2 before Allen bulled in from 8 yards to the touchdown. That score increased Buffalo’s lead to 23-7 with 14:08 remaining. When they got the ball again, Buffalo exhausted more than nine minutes from the clock on a 14-play drive that produced Prater’s 37-yard field goal with 1:07 to play.

On the first drive of the fourth quarter, the Steelers advanced to the Buffalo 7. On fourth-and-2, Kenny Gainwell was dropped for a 2-yard loss.

Buffalo had the ball for more than 20 minutes in the first half, ran 16 more plays than the Steelers and had a 176-87 advantage in total yards. The Steelers, though, had the only touchdown of the half.

Allen threw an interception, and Cook lost a fumble. The Steelers didn’t do anything with the first takeaway, but they scored a touchdown after the second to take a 7-0 lead with 8:09 left in the second quarter.

Cook lost control of the ball on a pitch, and it bounced away from him when he tried to jump on it. Patrick Queen recovered at the Buffalo 39.

To this point, the Steelers had 31 yards on 14 plays. On this series, they drove to the end zone, with Jaylen Warren bulling in from the 1 to break the scoreless tie.

The Bills got a 27-yard field goal from Prater with 51 seconds left in the half to make it 7-3. Buffalo had a fourth-and-3 at the 4 and planned to go for it before a false start caused the Bills to settle for the three points.