Steelers go cold in Buffalo, lose 5th consecutive playoff game

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The snowstorm that paralyzed western New York and led to the postponement of an AFC wild-card game until Monday merely delayed the inevitable playoff letdown for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Fans shoveled the 3 feet of snow that was dumped on Highmark Stadium over the weekend, but a 21-point first-half deficit was too much for the Steelers to dig out from under in a 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The early blizzard of points by the Bills was reminiscent of previous playoff failures for the Steelers, who have lost five consecutive postseason games since the 2016 season. The Steelers, hurt by two turnovers that the Bills turned into touchdowns, trailed 21-0 in the second quarter before staging a rally behind quarterback Mason Rudolph that came up short.

“We spotted them early,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “You can’t come into an environment like this against a playoff-caliber team and turn the ball over like that and expect to be competitive.”

The Steelers have allowed no fewer than 31 points in each of their five consecutive playoff defeats.

Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score for the Bills, who will face Kansas City in a divisional playoff game Saturday. Allen scorched a Steelers defense that played without NFL sacks leader T.J. Watt but featured the return of Pro Bowl free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick after a three-game absence.

The Steelers allowed 179 yards rushing, including 74 to Allen, whose 52-yard score provided a 21-point cushion in the second quarter.

“That’s what makes him the type of quarterback he is,” inside linebacker Elandon Robers said. “He’s a fearless quarterback there. He can run, he can make the throws where you’re like, ‘How did he make that?’ The whole NFL knows what type of quarterback Josh Allen is.”

For his part, Rudolph refused to go quietly. After engineering a three-game winning streak to end the regular season, Rudolph threw two touchdown passes, one in each half. His 10-yard toss to Diontae Johnson late in the second quarter got the Steelers within 21-7. His 7-yarder to Calvin Austin with 10:32 left in the fourth cut the deficit to 24-17.

“When I go back and look at the totality of the tape, I’ll have a better feel for it,” Rudolph said. “Right now, the plan was to come here and win, and we fell short to a great team. I can say I’m proud of what we as an offense put on tape the past few weeks.”

After the start was delayed by 27¹⁄₂ hours because of the whiteout, the temperature at kickoff was 17 degrees with clear skies but a 10-mph wind that made it feel like single digits. Fans who braved the cold temps were given shovels and cardboard boxes to assist with clearing their seats in many stadium sections.

The Bills treated their chilly faithful to a 21-0 lead.

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Two first-half turnovers — a George Pickens fumble and a Rudolph’s interception in the end zone — led to two touchdowns.

Allen threw touchdown passes to tight ends Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid, and his 52-yard run was the biggest gain against the Steelers, who allowed 245 yards in the half.

Add it up, and the 21-0 deficit marked the fourth playoff game in a row that the Steelers trailed by multiple scores in the first half:

• They gave up three touchdowns in the second quarter — and five unanswered scores overall — and trailed 21-7 at intermission against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2021 postseason.

• They fell behind 28-0 in the first quarter to the Cleveland Browns in 2020.

• They gave up the first three scores and trailed 21-0 and 28-7 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2017.

“I’m 0-2 myself, and that’s baggage I’ve got to carry,” third-year tight end Pat Freiermuth said. “Next year we’ve got to change that.”

Rudolph’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Johnson with 1:39 left before the break stopped the bleeding and pulled the Steelers within 21-7 heading into the second half.

After the defense got a three-and-out to open the third quarter, the Steelers moved to the 22, and Chris Boswell kicked a 40-yard field goal to make it 21-10.

The Bills got those three points back when Tyler Bass, whose previous attempt was blocked, kicked a 45-yard field goal at the end of a 14-play drive.

Rudolph led the Steelers on a 12-play, 75-yard march that was capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass to Austin.

“I thought we were going to make a run,” defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said.

Inside linebacker Myles Jack was called for two penalties — a hold and unnecessary roughness — on the next drive, which ended with Khalil Shakir’s 17-yard touchdown reception with 6:27 left. Shakir broke free from Fitzpatrick’s tackle and zig-zagged through the defense en route to a touchdown that gave the Bills a two-touchdown cushion.

“The rest was academic,” Tomlin said.

The loss ended a season in which a three-game losing streak in December was followed by a three-game run that gave the Steelers a 10-7 record and a dose of optimism entering the postseason.

Instead, the result was all too familiar.

“We didn’t win the Super Bowl, so I guess not,” Freiermuth said when asked whether the season can be viewed as successful. “We’d love to win some games in the playoffs, but it’s back to the drawing board to see what we can improve upon in the offseason.”