By Joe Buscaglia, Tim Graham, Mike DeFabo and Sam Jane

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ run defense has been relatively strong this season. But it hadn’t faced the Buffalo Bills.

James Cook ran for 144 yards on a career-high 32 attempts and Josh Allen added 38 yards and his NFL-record 76th rushing touchdown as Buffalo defeated Pittsburgh 26-7 at Acrisure Stadium on Sunday,

Allen completed only 15 passes on 23 attempts, one of them a 1-yard touchdown to wide receiver Keon Coleman, who returned to the lineup after being benched the past two weeks. The Bills’ defense allowed only 166 yards, and the Steelers struggled to sustain a drive after the first quarter.

The turning point came early in the third quarter, when Buffalo defensive end Joey Bosa strip-sacked quarterback Aaron Rodgers and cornerback Christian Benford returned the fumble for a touchdown for a 10–7 lead. Rodgers, who was bleeding from his nose, briefly entered the medical tent and missed an offensive possession.

On the ensuing drive, backup quarterback Mason Rudolph was picked off by Benford, and the Bills converted that into the Allen-Coleman score. Rodgers returned but completed just 10 passes for 117 yards. He’s thrown for less than 200 yards in three consecutive starts.

The Bills kept their AFC East title hopes alive and earned the head-to-head tiebreaker against the Steelers, who lost their second straight game and and surrendered 23 or more points for the seventh time.

Bills defense throttles Steelers offense

Buffalo survived, little thanks to its offense. Now we head into December with few answers to a prolonged malaise. Down by four points at halftime, Benford’s two takeaways inside the first 1:44 of the third quarter, including a scoop-and-score, swung the game and provided the offense a boost it failed to muster. Buffalo was without starting tackles Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown, and although that didn’t slow down Cook — and Allen avoided another beating — the offense as a whole looked out of sync again.

Cook ran 32 times for 144 yards and added three catches for a team-leading 33 yards, but lost a fumble at his own 39, leading to Pittsburgh’s only touchdown. The Bills rushed for 249 yards, the most by an opponent in Acrisure Stadium history and the most in Pittsburgh since 1975.

Allen completed four passes by halftime. Before he spotted fresh-from-the-doghouse Coleman on a 1-yard touchdown with 8:49 left in the third quarter, the reigning MVP had completed just seven of his first 13 attempts for 61 yards and an interception. Allen finished with 123 yards, his lowest output in two seasons when not merely making a ceremonial finale start. Buffalo’s bottom line was helped by Pittsburgh losing two defensive starters, linebacker Patrick Queen (hip) and cornerback James Pierre (concussion), in the first half. — Tim Graham, Bills beat writer

Allen breaks record, Cook’s impressive season continues

Even though the passing statistics weren’t there, Allen went into his early-career mode of running through defenders to push the Bills to victory. Allen had the second-most rushing attempts of his 2025 season with eight, and picked up a first down or touchdown on five of those eight. That included an 8-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the fourth quarter on third-and-goal to put the Steelers’ lingering hopes to rest.

It was a chippy contest, and Allen seemed to feed into some of that energy through his physical runs. On Allen’s lone touchdown pass, Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward got right in his face, to which the quarterback screamed in celebration. It wasn’t perfect on offense, but especially after their clunker in Houston, getting something going in the second half was a welcome sight for the Bills.

While the downfield passing game wasn’t reliable yet again, Cook flourished as the never-ending answer. He totaled 35 touches for a whopping 177 yards and was clearly Buffalo’s best means of moving the ball all game. Even when Cook needed some time on the sideline, backups Ray Davis and Ty Johnson added 87 yards on 14 touches.

Cook did lose a fumble, but overall it was an impressive showing by the Bills running backs. Buffalo was without both starting offensive tackles — the first time it has been missing two starting offensive linemen in a game since the 2021 season. The Bills found their way to a victory by following the early-season winning script of relying on their running backs, which was enough to get them to 8-4 for the season. — Joe Buscaglia, Bills beat writer

Rodgers’ return fails to spark offense

Two weeks after Rodgers fractured his left wrist, the veteran quarterback led the Steelers onto the field. However, the 41-year-old quarterback’s return alone wasn’t enough to jump start an inconsistent offense.

Through three quarters, the Steelers managed just 90 yards of offense. They ended the game with only 166 yards of offense. Rodgers finished the game 10-for-21 for 117 yards with a fumble.

The Steelers’ inability to consistently throw the ball downfield has made third-and-long situations a nightmare. A lack of a consistent WR2 has been a problem, as receivers have struggled to get open. The run game has been hit or miss all year. The offensive line hasn’t shown enough progress and is dealing with an injury to starting left tackle Broderick Jones. And lately, the quarterback play has regressed.

Add it all up and you have a performance like Sunday. — Mike DeFabo, Steelers beat writer

Steelers run defense embarrassed again

It could have been a big day for the Steelers’ talented pass-rush trio, with the Bills missing both starting offensive tackles. However, for T.J. Watt and company to feast, the Steelers first needed to stop the run to make the Bills one-dimensional. They never came close.

The Bills dominated the line of scrimmage. Consistently, they lined up in run-heavy formations and bullied the Steelers. By the time it was over, the Bills had set a record for the most rushing yards by an opponent at Acrisure Stadium. — DeFabo

Fan frustration bubbles over

Early in the fourth quarter, the video board faded to black, as the Steelers played their defensive anthem “Renegade.” Typically, this is when the Terrible Towels twirl and fans urge on their defense. This time, frustrated fans reacted by booing the song.

Things got even worse from there. A smattering of fans broke out into an audible “Fire Tomlin” chant.

The Steelers were once in the driver’s seat in the AFC North with a 4-1 start to the season. After losing five of their last seven to fall to 6-6, the Steelers still technically have life in the AFC playoff race. But they in no way resemble a competent playoff team. — DeFabo