Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - At no point during the Buffalo Bills' AFC Wild Card Round matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers was I worried. I figured they'd win.
I didn't think we would have to sweat out a game that went down to the final possession. I thought they would cover the 10-point spread, and they did.
You might have been worried when the Steelers scored to make it a one possession game at 24-17, but you had to know the Bills offense was playing well enough to close the game out with another field goal or a touchdown.
Josh Allen and company answered Pittsburgh's touchdown with a seven-play, 70-yard drive that ended with an amazing play by wide receiver Khalil Shakir, which was one of the more memorable touchdowns/moments in Bills playoff history.
Hats off to Shakir, who is playing the best football of his very young career over the last five weeks. He has become a key and reliable weapon for Allen in the passing game over the last several weeks.
On, what turned into, an-18 yard touchdown, I thought, for sure, Shakir was getting tackled for a short gain. However, somehow, he kept his balance, broke free from Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and headed for the game-sealing score.
The Bills would have been facing 3rd-and(~)8 at Pittsburgh's 16-yard line if not for Shakir's outstanding effort. According to Next Gen Stats, Shakir had a 0.7% chance of scoring a touchdown on that play. He was plus-14 yards after catch over expected.
That was one of two "Holy (you know what)!" plays the Bills offense produced on Monday.
The other was Allen's amazing 52-yard touchdown run.
Facing a 3rd-and-8 around midfield, Allen used his legs to crush the soul of the opposing defense, as we have seen him do so many times in his stellar Bills career.
It went from, "Wow, he's going to get a big first down," to shouts of joy real fast as he ran by Steelers defenders.
Allen continues to excel, when it comes to the postseason. His record is just 5-4, but that isn't his fault. Over those nine playoff games, Allen has produced 3,028 total yards of offense and 24 touchdowns, while having just six turnovers.
I'd like to give a tip of the cap to head coach Sean McDermott, who made the exact right call, but still should be applauded for not playing it safe with a key decision.
Leading 21-10 in the third quarter, McDermott had a 4th-and-short coming from his own 45-yard line, and he trusted the offense to keep the drive going. An Allen keeper, with considerable help from Reggie Gilliam who pushed the Bills quarterback, resulted in a first down.
Not only did the drive end up producing a field goal to stretch the lead to 14 points, it ended up taking another five minutes off the clock after the fourth down conversion.
Of course with a banged up punter and half the defense playing with backups, it probably wasn't a tough choice for McDermott, who improved his home playoff record as Bills head coach to 5-1.
The Bills are just one of two teams who had the same five players start all season along the offensive line. That group won its matchup with the Steelers' front.
The Bills, who have led the NFL in carries per-game and rushing yards per-game since Week 9, ran the ball 34 times for 179 yards. That is a very healthy average of 5.3 yards per-carries.
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Now we have the game the Bills and their fans have been wanting and waiting for.
This coming Sunday evening will see Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, who have ended the Bills' postseason in two of the last three years, coming to Orchard Park for the first true road playoff game of Mahomes' career.
That storyline might take a back seat right now, though, to all of the injuries on the Buffalo defense. In the second half against the Steelers, five of the 11 players on the field for the Bills defense were backups.
Hopefully some of them will be able to play come Sunday against the Chiefs.
One down, three to go.
