By Jared Villani
SteelerNation.com
Sunday night's matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Buffalo Bills got off to a defensive back and forth showdown and Pittsburgh's defense hung in tight up until Bills quarterback, Josh Allen took matters into his own hands. Allen kept the defense on their toes and ran the ball in from short yardage to put the Bills on the board first. Buffalo leads by 7 as the Steelers still sit scoreless early in the second quarter.
After an early interception from Bills shutdown corner Tre'Davious White, Devlin "Duck" Hodges reaped the benefits of James Conner's return and watched him work his way down field. The Steelers offense were unable to get much going in the first half aside from Chris Boswell building upon his brilliant season with a 49-yard field goal. Steelers trail 7 to 3 at the end of the first half.
Luckily for Pittsburgh's offense, the second half got off to a much better start than the first. James Conner proved to be a huge difference maker in his return, mostly on a play bailing Hodges out in the red-zone and giving the Steelers their first lead of the game. Pittsburgh leads 10 to 7 over Buffalo.
Not stopping 'til he reaches the end zone ????@JamesConner_ pic.twitter.com/8Fsukqo0S9
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) December 16, 2019
Buffalo answered back in the 4th quarter after failing to get anywhere with the offense, but veteran kicker Steven Hauschka evened the score at 10 with a 36-yard field goal.
Not long after Buffalo tied the game, Josh Allen took over and kept the offense rolling and ultimately ended the drive with a 14-yard strike to a wide open Tyler Kroft to regain the lead. Buffalo sealed the deal with this drive as the game ended with lackluster offense for both teams, however defense was the tale of the tape.
Unfortunately for Duck Hodges, the rest of this primetime AFC showdown was anything but smooth sailing. The Bills proved why they are one of the league's toughest units and Hodges found out the hard way with three second half interceptions.
The Bills clinched a playoff berth with this 17 to 10 victory over Pittsburgh and the Steelers are left with their backs against the wall with their playoff hopes still very much alive, but a bit more bleak than Steeler Nation had hoped for.
Steelers Stat Leaders
Devlin Hodges 202 Yards One Touchdown 4 Interceptions
James Conner 8 for 42 Yards One Receiving Touchdown
James Washington 5 Receptions 83 Yards
Terrell Edmunds 11 Tackles
