Last offseason, the Buffalo Bills signed Joey Bosa to a one-year, $12.6 million contract, hoping to make an impact from the longtime Los Angeles Chargers pass rusher. One game could justify the whole deal.
The Bills struggled again on Sunday and were in danger of falling to 7-5 and possibly in danger of missing the playoffs. They trailed the Pittsburgh Steelers 7-3 early in the second half. It didn't look nice.
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It's hard to say the Bills will come back to have a special season, but if they do, Bosa's hit on Aaron Rodgers will be remembered for a long time.
Rodgers dropped back to make the pass and bounced in the pocket, unaware that Bosa was approaching him from behind. Bosa crushed Rodgers with a hit that gave Rodgers a nosebleed, Rodgers fumbled and cornerback Christian Benford picked up the ball for a touchdown.
That gave the Bills a lead that they never regained, winning 26–7 in the deciding game against the Steelers. The running game helped bring the win home. Buffalo had 249 yards.
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Bosa hasn't had a successful season, with just four sacks heading into Sunday's game. But he had a potentially game-saving play against the Steelers.
Bills turn things around after halftime
The Bills offense struggled in the first half on Sunday, but the defense, which has struggled this season, performed well when the game was in doubt.
The Steelers have Rodgers back in the lineup even though he was lost last week with a broken left wrist and was ineffective. I also didn’t like the Steelers game, which stretched out over a long day. When the Bills led 23-7 less than a minute into the fourth quarter, the Steelers had just 90 yards. They had 45 turnovers and 45 rushes. So hard to win.
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The Bills didn't do much offensively in the first half. This was a continuation of last week's poor performance against the Texans.
Bosa's strong play and efficient defense seemed to take some of the pressure off the offense. On fourth-and-goal, Allen hit Keon Coleman, who had been out of favor for missing plays, for the game-tying 1-yard touchdown. Early in the fourth quarter, Allen and the Bills pushed the stack into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown. It was Allen's 76th rushing touchdown, breaking 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 began after Bosa's big play.
Mike Tomlin under pressure
The AFC playoff race is heating up and both teams needed a win to help themselves. The Steelers are in a bit more trouble after Sunday.
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Pittsburgh had a chance to take advantage of the upset of the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night, but they were unable to do so. The Steelers and Ravens are 6-6 and tied for first place in the AFC North standings. The Cincinnati Bengals suddenly found some life back, somehow losing just two games in the division at 4-8.
A large group of Steelers fans, led by coach Mike Tomlin, are dissatisfied as the Steelers continue to crack .500 but never figure into the playoffs. In terrible loss there was an audible Chant “Fiery Tomlin” in Pittsburgh.
The Bills' hopes of winning the AFC East largely faded with the New England Patriots off to a 10-2 start and a wild card spot not guaranteed either. Losing would be devastating in this race. There were fears for half the season that they would end up suffering another defeat and move closer to being eliminated from the play-offs. This has been fixed.
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The bills still have issues to work through. But on Sunday they escaped with a much-needed victory. The Steelers could use a win, and soon.
