The Buffalo Bills signed Joey Bosa to a one-year, $12.6 million contract this past offseason, hoping for an impact from the longtime Los Angeles Chargers pass rusher. One play might have justified the entire deal.
The Bills were scuffling yet again Sunday, and in danger of falling to 7-5 and perhaps becoming in danger of missing the playoffs. They trailed the Pittsburgh Steelers 7-3 to start the second half. It didn’t look pretty.
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It’s hard to say that the Bills will come all the way back to have a special season, but if they do, Bosa’s hit on Aaron Rodgers will be remembered for a long time.
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Rodgers dropped back to pass and was bouncing around in the pocket, unaware that Bosa was closing in on him from behind. Bosa crushed Rodgers with a hit that bloodied Rodgers’ nose and forced a fumble that was scooped up by cornerback Christian Benford for a touchdown.
That gave the Bills the lead and they never gave it back, winning 26-7 in a crucial game against the Steelers. The running game helped bring the win home. Buffalo had 249 yards rushing.
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Bosa hasn’t had a huge season, with just four sacks before Sunday’s game. But he had a potentially season-saving play against the Steelers.
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was bloodied on the nose after taking the hit, one of the biggest of his career.
Bills turn it around after halftime
The Bills’ offense wasn’t great in the first half Sunday, but a defense that has struggled this season came up big when the game was in doubt.
The Steelers brought Rodgers back to the lineup despite him missing last week with fractures in his left wrist, and he wasn’t effective. Neither was the Steelers’ run game, which made for a long day. When the Bills took a 23-7 lead less than a minute into the fourth quarter, the Steelers had just 90 yards. They had 45 passing and 45 rushing. It’s hard to win that way.
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The Bills weren’t doing much themselves on offense through the first half. It was a continuation of the poor play they had the previous week against the Texans.
Bosa’s big play and the defensive score seemed to take pressure off the offense. On a fourth-and-goal, Allen hit Keon Coleman, who had been in the doghouse for missing meetings, on a crucial 1-yard touchdown. Early in the fourth quarter Allen and the Bills pushed the pile into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown run. It was Allen’s 76th rushing touchdown, which broke Cam Newton’s NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
It was a completely different Bills team in the second half, and the surge started after Bosa’s big play.
Mike Tomlin under pressure
The AFC playoff race is tightening up, and both teams needed a win to help themselves. It’s the Steelers who are in a little more trouble after Sunday.
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Pittsburgh had a chance to take advantage of the Baltimore Ravens being upset on Thursday night, but the Steelers couldn’t. They and the Ravens are both 6-6, tied for first place in the AFC North. The Cincinnati Bengals suddenly have a little bit of life, somehow down only two games in the division at 4-8.
There has been unhappiness with a large group of Steelers fans with head coach Mike Tomlin, as the Steelers continue to inch past .500 but never are a factor in the playoffs. In an ugly loss, there was an audible “Fire Tomlin” chant in Pittsburgh.
“I share their frustration tonight,” Tomlin told reporters, per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “We didn’t do enough.”
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Rodgers defended Tomlin having the team prepared for the game, placing the emphasis on the players. He also addressed the fans booing.
“They pay money for a ticket, so they have the right, good, bad or indifferent, to say what they want,” Rodgers said postgame. “So I totally understand the frustration. I’ve been booed on offense even in Green Bay over the years. So, that was a boo-worthy performance.”
The Bills’ hopes of winning the AFC East have mostly slipped away with the New England Patriots off to a 10-2 start, and a wild-card spot wasn’t assured either. A loss would have been damaging in that race. For a half, there was concern they would end up taking another loss and slip closer to being out of the playoff picture. That was rectified.
The Bills still have issues to work on. But on Sunday they escaped with a much-needed win. The Steelers could use a win, and soon.
