Josh Allen leads Bills past Steelers 31-17. Baker Mayfield and Bucs pound Eagles 32-9

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen threw three touchdown passes and scored on a franchise playoff-record 52-yard touchdown run, and the Buffalo Bills beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-17 on Monday in an AFC wild-card playoff game that was postponed a day because of a lake-effect blizzard.

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 night.

Allen threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Khalil Shakir with 6:27 remaining that restored a two-touchdown lead for Buffalo. He 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.

Mason Rudolph threw two touchdown passes with an interception in his first playoff start for the Steelers (10-8), but Pittsburgh was too inconsistent on either side of the ball to keep up with Allen and the Bills. The Steelers lost their fifth straight playoff game; the franchise’s most recent postseason victory was exactly seven years ago.

Buffalo jumped out to a 21-0 lead, and the Steelers closed within 24-17 thanks in part to a blocked field goal, but got no closer.

BUCCANEERS 32, EAGLES 9

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield threw for 337 yards and three touchdowns to lead resurgent Tampa Bay past defending NFC champion Philadelphia.

The Bucs (10-8) won for the sixth time in seven games to advance to a divisional-round game at Detroit.

David Moore scored on a 44-yard reception in the first quarter. Rookie Trey Palmer broke the game open with a 56-yard catch-and-run for a TD that put the Bucs up 25-9 late in the third. Both receivers took advantage of a porous, poor-tackling Eagles secondary.

Mayfield completed 22 of 36 passes without an interception and capped his first playoff appearance since the 2020 season with a 23-yard TD pass to Chris Godwin.

Philadelphia (11-7) started 10-1 and appeared determined to return to the Super Bowl but closed the season by losing six of seven games, a collapse that has led to questions about coach Nick Sirianni’s future. Jalen Hurts threw for 250 yards and a touchdown for the Eagles.

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