ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen was amazing. Plain and simple. He threw three touchdown passes and scored on a franchise playoff-record 52-yard touchdown run as the Buffalo Bills beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17 Monday, Jan 15. The Monday afternoon game was an AFC wild-card playoff game that was postponed a day because of a lake-effect blizzard.
The highlight of the night for local fans was when the Highmark Stadium stands erupted with snow being tossed into the air like confetti when Allen threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to former Vista Murrieta and Boise State standout, Khalil Shakir. The play happened with 6:27 remaining that restored a two-touchdown lead for Buffalo. Shakir caught the pass at the 10 over the middle, then reversed field to the right, made a great cut inside linebacker Mykal Walker and not only outran linebacker Myles Jack, but also evaded defensive tackle Cam Heyward to the end zone.
“My job is to get across the field and show eyes if they do bring any sort of blitz,” Shakir said. “Josh put it right on me. I don’t know. Dude hit me and I was able to stay up and make a play from there.”
Shakir, who is a mere 23 years old, hailing from Murrieta, also said he probably managed to keep his feet after the Fitzpatrick hit due to the training the receivers do during the week. “We practice a ball-security drill once a week. It’s called stumble bump or something. Hold the ball and put your hand down and someone’s punching at the ball. I guess repetition and doing what you practice shows up in games.”
Allen finished 21 of 30 for 203 yards and ran for 74 yards on eight carries, becoming the first quarterback in NFL playoff history to throw three or more TD passes while rushing for 70 or more yards and a score. He didn’t have a turnover for just the fourth time this season. As a team Buffalo finished with over 300 total yards for the sixth straight game for the second time in team history. Shakir, who graduated from Vista Murrieta in 2018, had three catches for 31 yards to go with his TD.
The second-seeded Bills (12-6), who closed the regular season with five straight wins, advance to host Patrick Mahomes and the No. 3 seed Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round on Sunday, Jan. 21. The Bills have longed for a home playoff game against the Chiefs after their 2020 and ’21 seasons ended with playoff losses in Kansas City.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at sports@reedermedia.com.
