Steelers Week 14 Recap: Steelers Top Bills

The Steelers came away with a decisive victory against the Bills on a snowy Sunday, which brought them a big step closer to the playoffs.

The Steelers played a relatively unique game for the modern era. They didn’t pass much, or all that effectively. They did however run the ball relentlessly and put on a strong defensive performance, complete with sacks and turnovers. The snow covered field had a lot to do with all that.

1st Quarter

The Steelers started off passing. They were moving the ball on the first drive, largely off a pair of Le’Veon Bell catches that went for 10 and 32 yards. He added a 16 yard run too before Ben threw his first interception. The Bills started off getting sacked and ended up three and out, punting.

Ben caught Brown for a big 40 yard pass early in the drive. Ladarius Green got another first down on an 18 yard catch. A couple of Le’Veon Bell runs brought it 11 more yards and into the endzone for a score. Pittsburgh up 7-0.

Pittsburgh started off sacking Tyrod Taylor again. Then there was a crazy play where the Steelers got a pick six but that got erased by a penalty and resulted in a first down for the Bills. Regardless, after another sack the Bills had to punt.

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2nd Quarter

The Steelers started this drive with a series of short passes and medium sized runs but eventually found themselves at 4th down. They went for it though and David Johnson caught a 15 yard pass to convert. Continuing again with the short passes and run plays the Steelers approached the goal line. It was Le’Veon Bell again who punched it in. Pittsburgh up 14-0.

The Bills started off well enough with a few strong LeSean McCoy runs. It was stalled after another sack though and the Bills had to punt. No matter, the Steelers would be intercepted shortly after. The ball was returned to the 7 and the Bills scored on a short pass to Sammie Watkins. Pittsburgh up 14-7.

The Steelers got the ball back and got a couple first downs off of Le’Veon Bell but after a few incomplete passes and a false start they had to punt. The Bills did get a 14 yard catch out of Sammie Watkins but had to punt shortly after too. Bell would get another first down followed by a punt, and the Bills would run out the clock on the half.

3rd Quarter

The Bills started the half with the ball after a delayed start forced by tiny black rubber pellets from the field. They managed another nice pass play from Watkins but the the Steelers kept pressure and the Bills had to punt.

The Steelers ran the ball with Le’Veon Bell 9 times with a 14 yard pass to Cobi Hamilton in the middle to mix it up. Bell runs included one for 13 yards and another for 24. It was fitting then that it was Bell who punched it in for the score. Pittsburgh up 21-7.

The Bills had a long pass called back due to penalty and had to punt shortly after. The Steelers found what worked and were handing the ball to Le’Veon Bell. He had a run of 33 yards on the drive. Unfortunately though, 3rd down forced a throw, and that throw was intercepted.

4th Quarter

Never fear Steelers fans. The Steelers intercepted that ball right back when a pass was thrown short and Artie Burns was there to take it out of the air and run with it. The Steelers again relied heavily, or exclusively I should say, on Bell. He managed a 14 yard run and some other nice chunks of yardage, including a 3 yard run that broke the Steelers single game rushing record. They settled for a field goal and went up 24-7.

The Bills were low on time but hadn’t given up yet. Following a sack Taylor threw a short pass to McCoy that went for 41 yards. Taylor threw it away due to pressure on the next play but after that Clay took a pass 40 yards for a touchdown. They missed the extra point. Pittsburgh up 24-13.

The Steelers opened up with a 29 yard pass to Antonio Brown. Le’Veon Bell took a short pass 14 yards for another first down. They slowed down just outside their own redzone though and had to kick. Pittsburgh up 27-13.

With only three and a half minutes left it was not looking great for the Bills. They were still fighting though. There was an 18 yard pass to Watkins. Then there was a 29 yard pass to Woods. Then 12 yards to O’Leary and 13 to McCoy. Finally, McCoy ran it in the endzone for a touchdown. Pittsburgh up 27-20.

The onside kick went out of bounds. Pittsbugh would kneel three times though and that was that.

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It was obviously a huge game for Bell. He ran for 236, caught 62 and had 3 touchdowns. Ryan Shazier pointed out after the game, simply, “It’s amazing to watch somebody run like that.” Well the Steelers are at the moment on top of the AFC North, we’ll have to wait for Monday to know if that’s official. Regardless they had a good game that put them another step closer to the playoffs.

All stats via NFL.com