Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills proved to be too much for Pittsburgh Steelers

The Buffalo Bills needed a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the worst way this past weekend. After one half of football, the Bills looked to be in big trouble. Trailing 7-3 and playing generally uninspired football on offense, Buffalo needed a jolt. Joey Bosa provided that jolt, sacking Aaron Rodgers and causing a fumble that Christian Benford returned for a touchdown. From that point on, Buffalo dominated the contest en route to a 26-7 win.

While it wasn’t a perfect game by any means, the Bills did exactly what they had to do in order to come out on top. I didn’t expect them to run the same play 30 times in the game, and I certainly didn’t expect that they’d have as much success running that same play repeatedly as they did; however, that’s exactly what happened. Buffalo may be the seven seed in the AFC at the moment, but at 8-4, they are in prime position to make the postseason for a franchise-record seventh straight season.

Our Bills to watch came up aces in this one — at least, most of them did. Here’s how our players to watch performed in the blowout over the Steelers._____________________________________________________________________________

QB Josh Allen

If you’re box-score scouting, Allen’s line from this game wasn’t very impressive. He completed 15-of-23 passes for 123 yards and one touchdown against a Pittsburgh secondary that allowed an average of 259 passing yards per game coming into the contest. He also added 38 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Given that the Bills only passed 23 times, it’s not terribly surprising that Allen threw for fewer yards in a game than any other quarterback has so far this year against Pittsburgh. That will happen when an offense runs for 249 yards, which is a record-high total for the Steelers in a home game (at least since 1975, when the O.J. Simpson-led Bills ran for 310 yards in a victory over the Super Bowl-bound Steel Curtain).

When asked about the lack of a downfield passing game after the win, Allen noted that the team has to “play the game that’s in front of them,” adding that long-developing routes require deeper dropbacks, and against a pass rush as fierce as Pittsburgh’s Buffalo wasn’t about to try that on Sunday. They instead relied on a steady diet of running back James Cook, who carried a career-high 32 times for 144 yards while leading the team in receiving with three catches for 33 yards.

Allen managed to complete passes to eight different receivers, including a fourth-down touchdown pass to second-year man Keon Coleman where Allen eluded near-instant pressure to make magic out of what looked like a disaster. Allen also ran for his 11th touchdown of the season, and more impressively, the 76th of his illustrious career. That set an NFL record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, surpassing Cam Newton’s career total.

It wasn’t exactly pretty, but it was an effective day on the road for a Buffalo team that needed a win badly. Sometimes, that’s all that matters. When the Bills needed Allen most, he delivered.

WR Brandin Cooks

The newest addition to Buffalo’s receiving corps didn’t play many snaps — he appeared on just 17 overall, or 23% of the offensive total — but he did manage to make his first catch as a Buffalo Bill. Facing a 3rd & 8 on Buffalo’s first drive, Cooks was able to use his speed to sell a deep route before breaking off a quick hitch, netting a 13-yard gain and a first down that extended the drive.

While that drive ultimately ended with a Josh Allen interception, Cooks showed on that one play that he can be more than just a fly-route specialist. While it was his only target in the game, it’s clear that offensive coordinator Joe Brady kept his best two blocking wideouts, Tyrell Shavers and Gabe Davis, on the field in order to spam their duo/inside zone concepts in the run game. With more time on task in the offense, Cooks will likely make an impact moving forward.

OT Alec Anderson and OT Ryan Van Demark

We were fairly certain that the Bills would be without both starting offensive tackles, and when T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are lined up on the other side, that’s never a good thing. However, both of Buffalo’s reserves stepped up in a big way this week, as they were part of a unit that kept Allen from being sacked once just one week after allowing him to be sacked a career-high eight times in a loss against the Houston Texans.

In the run game, both of Buffalo’s reserves looked like starters, as they consistently found work, kept on their blocks, and moved to the second level to spring big holes for Allen, Cook, Ray Davis, and Ty Johnson. In the pass game, they weren’t perfect, but they were engaged and aggressive, keeping their marks at bay for long enough to give Allen time to operate. Anderson’s day started rough, as he jumped early for two false start penalties, but as he settled in, he showed why he’s such a valuable member of the roster.

Credit to both of these guys, as well as offensive line coach Aaron Kromer, for being as prepared as they were. At least one of them is likely to start again next week against the Cincinnati Bengals, as Spencer Brown’s shoulder injury looked like the kind of thing that’s going to sideline him for multiple weeks. After this game, we know that Buffalo’s reserves are ready.

DT T.J. Sanders

Good for the rookie! He was as effective as he’s been as a pro on Sunday, even popping on a few occasions to make plays. Sanders was still playing defensive end at times in this one, especially on third downs — on one occasion, the Bills used Greg Rousseau as the A-gap “mug” player intended for Michael Hoecht, with Sanders playing right defensive end and Dorian Williams lining up in a two-point stance at what would have been left defensive end.

The formation versatility Buffalo shows up front was able to confuse Pittsburgh’s blocking scheme enough to rush a damaged Aaron Rodgers, who was already dealing with a left wrist fracture before suffering what looked like a broken nose on the aforementioned big hit from Joey Bosa. Sanders had a pass knockdown on Rodgers’ first pass back into the game, and he also registered a garbage-time tackle on running back Kenneth Gainwell.

Buffalo’s defensive front came up big overall, as they limited the Steelers to just 58 rushing yards on 18 carries. Development is never linear, but Sanders needs to bottle the energy and effectiveness from these 19 snaps and use it to boost his play moving forward.

CB Taron Johnson

As we expected, the Bills matched Pittsburgh’s heavy personnel with linebackers for most of the day, which meant that Johnson played fewer snaps than usual. He appeared on just 58% of the team’s snaps, which may be over half, but it’s still less than he normally plays. It was for the best, as Buffalo’s linebacker group — led by Shaq Thompson, who had nine tackles in another phenomenal performance — looked better than it has all year against the run.

The Bills did bring some pressure off the edges in the form of corner blitzes, as both Johnson and Tre’Davious White served as extra rushers at different points in the game. Johnson had three assisted tackles in what was a quieter day than usual, but it was an effective day nonetheless.