Aaron Rodgers’ return from a left wrist injury didn’t provide the jolt the Pittsburgh Steelers were seeking Sunday. Instead, it was a jolt to Rodgers that awakened the Buffalo Bills and sent the Steelers to another loss.
Rodgers lost a fumble after being sacked from behind on the first play of the second half, and the Bills returned the loose ball for a momentum-changing touchdown that lifted them to a 26-7 victory at Acrisure Stadium.
The Steelers were leading 7-3 when Rodgers coughed up the ball as he was being sacked, and Christian Benford returned it 17 yards for a score.
Joey Bosa’s hit sent Rodgers out of the game for a series with a cut on his nose, and by the time the four-time MVP quarterback returned, the Bills (8-4) were well on their way to handing the Steelers (6-6) their fifth loss in the past seven games. The loss also knocked the Steelers back into a first-place tie with Baltimore in the AFC North heading into next Sunday’s meeting with the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
“That was an awful performance by us,” coach Mike Tomlin said.
For the second week in a row and the fourth time this season, the Steelers lost a game after taking a lead into the second half. That doesn’t count the loss in Cincinnati, when the Steelers blew a 10-0 first quarter advantage.
The Steelers never had an answer after the Rodgers fumble, giving up 23 unanswered points in the second half, leading to “Fire Tomlin” chants from the paid crowd of 66,068 in the fourth quarter.
“I share their frustration tonight,” Tomlin said. “We didn’t do enough. That’s just the reality of it.”
Tomlin was asked if any changes would be made to the game plan or personnel on the field.
“I’m looking at everything,” he said.
Wearing a protective brace over his fractured left wrist, Rodgers returned following a one-game absence. Rodgers worked exclusively out of the pistol formation — he did not take one snap from under center — and struggled with his accuracy.
He completed 6 of 14 passes for 54 yards through three quarters, and the Steelers had 90 yards total offense heading into the fourth. Rodgers finished 10 of 21 for 117 yards.
“I felt good enough to be out there,” Rodgers said, adding, “I’m disappointed in my performance, the offense’s performance.”
The Steelers were held to a season-low 166 yards and possessed the ball for just 18 minutes, 1 second. They also ran 43 plays to Buffalo’s 74.
That disparity was a result of the Bills running the ball at will against a Steelers defense that was missing rookie defensive tackle Derrick Harmon. The Bills rushed for 249 yards, the most given up by the Steelers at home in 50 years. James Cook led with 144 yards rushing on 32 carries. Ray Davis added 62, and quarterback Josh Allen had 38 plus a touchdown. Buffalo had six runs of 13 yards or longer.
“I’ve never seen a team run the same play as much as they ran it tonight and had as much success as they had,” outside linebacker T.J. Watt said.
Related:
• Say it isn’t so: Steelers fans boo ‘Renegade’ in 4th quarter of loss to Bills
• Steelers’ Cam Heyward ‘ticked off’ at Bills’ Josh Allen for ‘kneeing’ him in the midsection
• ‘Fire Tomlin’ chants ring out at Acrisure Stadium late in Bills’ blowout of Steelers
And despite the fact that Buffalo was missing its starting tackles, the Steelers didn’t get a sack on Allen. This came a week after Allen was sacked eight times in Buffalo’s loss to Houston.
“It was a (butt) kicking in all areas,” Watt said.
By deferring after winning the coin toss, the Steelers got the ball to open the second half. It was the sixth time this season they had the first possession coming out of intermission. On the previous five drives, four ended with a punt, and the other ended with Rodgers throwing an interception.
This time, the damage was worse. On the first snap from scrimmage, Bosa came rushing from Rodgers’ blind side, hit the quarterback and dislodged the ball. Benford scored easily to give Buffalo a 10-7 lead just 16 seconds into the third quarter.
“We never really recovered from that,” Rodgers said. “There were other parts of the game day experience that were flat as well.”
Rodgers headed into the medical tent, and Mason Rudolph relieved him for the next series. Rudolph overthrew Darnell Washington on his second pass, and Benford intercepted at the Buffalo 44.
The Bills increased their lead to 16-7 when Allen deftly executed a fourth-and-goal from the 1. Allen sidestepped Brandin Echols on a corner blitz and found Keon Coleman in the back of the end zone for the touchdown. It came after Cook broke a 31-yard run to the Steelers 7.
Rodgers returned for the next series, and the Steelers went three and out.
The Bills responded with a 15-play, 83-yard march to the end zone, converting a fourth-and-2 before Allen bulled in from 8 yards for the touchdown. That score increased Buffalo’s lead to 23-7 with 14:08 remaining.
When they got the ball again, Buffalo exhausted more than nine minutes from the clock on a 14-yard drive that produced Matt Prater’s 37-yard field goal with 1:07 to play.
“Individually, I’m just concerned about this team,” defensive tackle Cameron Heyward said. “Two big losses back-to-back. We have a big game next week, but right now I’m kind of (ticked) off with how we played. I’m not saying it lightly, but I hope everybody in this locker room is, too.”
