Joel Wilson – Contributing Writer
jnw5443@psu.edu

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. – As the October 9 matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo
Bills approached, the football world prepared to watch Josh Allen dominate the Black and Gold.
Their expectations came to fruition in impressive fashion.
The game did not begin ideally for Buffalo. The Steelers won the coin toss and chose to defer to
the second half. Buffalo’s Taiwan Jones muffed the opening kickoff, leading to the Bills starting
their first drive at their own two yard line. After an incomplete pass, and a running play that
resulted in a gain of zero yards, Josh Allen unleashed a throw down the middle of the field to
Gabe Davis for a 98-yard touchdown. A successful extra point attempt made the score 7-0
Buffalo. They shook off their early error and did not look back.
Before Buffalo’s barrage, Pittsburgh kicked a 29-yard field goal. These 3 points would be the
only time the Steelers managed to score all afternoon as Kenny Pickett went 34/52 with 327
yards, no touchdowns, and an interception in his first career start at QB. Despite not throwing a
touchdown pass, Pickett had a decent game. The young Pitt graduate is showing good potential
for being a future leader for the Steelers.
After Pittsburgh’s score, the Bills responded with a field goal of their own: a 35-yard kick from
Tyler Bass. The Bills would score three more touchdowns before halftime. The first of these was
an impressive 62-yard pass to Gabe Davis, giving him his second TD of the game. The ever-
reliable Stefon Diggs was the next Buffalo Bill to take the ball to the endzone with a 15-yard
short pass from Josh Allen. The final Buffalo touchdown of the half was a 24-yard pass from
Allen to Khalil Shakir. The Bills went back to their locker room sitting on a comfortable 31-3
lead. In the first half alone, Josh Allen achieved a whopping 348 passing yards. The Steelers
rarely give up that amount of yardage in a game, let alone a half.
The Bills offense cooled off in the second half, posting only one touchdown. This time, Allen
gave the ball to James Cook, who took it for a 24-yard rushing touchdown. Despite the Steelers’
best efforts, Buffalo’s defense kept Mike Tomlin’s squad quiet. The Steelers turned the ball over
on downs three times. Pittsburgh also punted once and missed a 45-yard field goal attempt. It
should be noted that the missed field goal cannot be attributed to a lack of talent from Chris
Boswell as the wind was blowing at 17 miles per hour in Orchard Park during the game.
When the clock hit zero in the fourth quarter, the scoreboard showed a 38-3 Bills victory.
Because the score was so lopsided, Josh Allen was pulled in the fourth quarter for Case
Keenum. Allen put up the second most yards by any QB in Bills history. Sunday’s result was
Buffalo’s largest win deficit of the season. They outscored the Steelers by 35 points.
Next Sunday, the Bills will travel west to take on Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in
a rematch of last postseason’s divisional round. The Steelers will return to Pittsburgh, where
they will host Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.