Allen and Shakir magic sets up mouthwatering Bills-Chiefs playoff clash

Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and scored on a franchise playoff-record 52-yard touchdown run, and the Buffalo Bills beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17 on Monday in an AFC wildcard playoff game that was postponed a day because of a lake-effect blizzard.

The Highmark Stadium stands erupted with snow being tossed into the air like confetti when Allen threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir with 6:27 remaining that restored a two-touchdown lead for Buffalo. Shakir caught the pass at the 10-yard line, and then slipped Minkah Fitzpatrick’s tackle attempt by spinning around before outracing the rest of the Steelers defenders into the end zone.

The second-seeded Bills (12-6), who closed the regular season with five straight wins, advance to host Patrick Mahomes and the No 3 seed Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round on Sunday night. The Bills have longed for a home playoff game against the Chiefs after their 2020 and 2021 seasons ended with playoff losses at Kansas City.

“It’s going to take a team effort, they’re playing really good football right now, we know what type of team they have, what type of quarterback they have in Pat [Mahomes] over there, so we’re going to need everyone in Bills mafia to support us,” said Allen after the game.

Allen finished 21 of 30 for 203 yards and ran for 74 yards on eight carries, becoming the first quarterback in NFL playoff history to throw three or more TD passes while rushing for 70 or more yards and a score.

Mason Rudolph threw two touchdown passes in his first playoff start for the Steelers (10-8), but Pittsburgh were too inconsistent on both sides of the ball to keep up with Allen and the Bills. The Steelers lost their fifth straight playoff game; the franchise’s most recent postseason victory was exactly seven years ago.

The Steelers came out flat, allowing Buffalo to score touchdowns on three of their first five possessions and build a 21-0 lead on Allen’s electrifying touchdown run midway through the second quarter. But Pittsburgh got back into the game by blocking a field goal attempt late in the second quarter, leading to a touchdown.

Rudolph, a longtime backup, took over for the injured Kenny Pickett and ineffective Mitch Trubisky to lead the Steelers to three straight wins to close the regular season and was given the playoff start even after Pickett recovered from an ankle injury.

Buffalo had a to wait an extra day to host the Steelers after a dangerous snowstorm that dumped more than 2ft of snow on the region, leading the NFL to bump the game from its scheduled Sunday afternoon start.

The elements didn’t play much of a factor. Though temperatures were around 17F (-8C), the skies were clear and there was only a slight breeze blowing in off Lake Erie.