Buffalo’s Taron Johnson returned an interception 51 yards for a touchdown and the Bills’ Josh Allen threw two third-quarter touchdown passes as the Steelers dropped their second straight game, 26-15, last night in Buffalo. The loss makes tonight’s Baltimore/Cleveland game especially interesting to anxious Steelers fans, as the Browns are only a game in back of the Steelers in the loss column.
The Steelers held a 7-3 lead with about a minute left in the first half before Johnson’s pick-six. Buffalo then took control of the game with two straight scoring drives to open the second half.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says the team simply didn’t play well enough to win.
Tomlin admitted that the Steelers’ defensive schemes were limited because of injuries and inexperienced backups.
Ben Roethlisberger threw touchdown passes to James Washington and JuJu Smith-Schuster, but was also intercepted twice.
Big Ben says right now the offense is not playing well.
Roethlisberger says the Steelers have to turn it around quickly, and it starts with him.
Big Ben was 21-37 for 187 yards and was even sacked once, for the first time since November 1st, and after 275 pass attempts. The Steelers were only 1-for-10 on third downs and had the ball for only 8 minutes, 20 seconds of the second half.
The injury list for the Steelers continues to grow. Guards Matt Feiler and Kevin Dotson both left the game with pectoral injuries, forcing J.C. Hassenauer into the game. Tackle Chuks Okorafur left the game briefly as well, leaving the Steelers with no backup offensive linemen, but he did return. Rookie linebacker Alex Highsmith, playing for Bud Dupree, left the game in the fourth quarter and did not return.
Ironically, even with the loss, the Steelers clinched a playoff berth, thanks to the Kansas City win over Miami, but the Chiefs have now overtaken Pittsburgh for the top seed in the AFC.
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