How two backup tackles helped Buffalo Bills achieve something no team has ever done in Pittsburgh

Joey Bosa, Christian Benford and the rest of the defense saved the Buffalo Bills’ season at Acrisure Stadium.

The Bills found themselves trailing 7-3 at halftime. Buffalo’s offense was able to move the ball over midfield a few times in the half, but the unit looked out of sorts for the most part in the first two quarters of the game. It’s not surprising as Buffalo was without their top offensive tackles, top pass-catcher and one of their best receivers.

Buffalo’s defense, however, came to play, with Pittsburgh’s lone touchdown in the first half coming off a James Cook fumble where his own knee jarred the ball loose.

Pittsburgh opened the second half with the ball, but the series did not last long. Joey Bosa came off the edge and after getting initial pressure on Aaron Rodgers, Bosa was able to circle back for a strip-sack. Christian Benford collected the ball off the turf and ran it in for a touchdown. On the following series, Benford picked off Mason Rudolph. The Bills would ultimately score a touchdown, a short Josh Allen pass to Keon Coleman.

Buffalo’s defense shut down the Steelers on Sunday, which gave Buffalo’s offense time to figure things out.

Offensively, figuring it out meant running the ball down Pittsburgh’s throat. James Cook led the way with 144 yards on 32 carries and Ray Davis added several tough runs where he picked up plenty of yards after initial contact. He would finish with a 9-62 stat line. Between Cook, Davis, Ty Johnson and Josh Allen, Buffalo went on to make history rushing for the most yards ever at Acrisure Stadium by an away team. Cook and company deserve much of the praise, but doing so with two backups at offensive tackle, Ryan Van Demark and Alec Anderson, makes the feat that much more impressive.

Buffalo’s second-half dominance led to 23 unanswered points and its eighth win of the season.

Following the victory, here are reasons to be encouraged and worried.

ENCOURAGED

Christian Benford: Christian Benford did a terrific job on D.K. Metcalf during Sunday’s matchup, but two big plays in the third quarter stood out the most.

Benford gave Buffalo the lead following a scoop and score on a Joey Bosa strip-sack. Considering the struggles of the offense in the first half, that play was sorely needed. On the following drive, Mason Rudolph airmailed a pass intended for Darnell Washington. Benford was behind the tight end to haul in the pick. Buffalo would score a touchdown off Benford’s pick.

Buffalo’s ground game: James Cook was able to run all over the Steelers’ defense. Buffalo’s star back led the way with over 140 yards on the ground.

While Cook did the most damage, Buffalo also received contributions from Ray Davis (6.9 YPC), Ty Johnson and Josh Allen.

By the end of the matchup, Buffalo’s ground game set the record for most rushing yards by a road team at Acrisure Stadium (249).

Joey Bosa: Buffalo would probably like to see more consistency from Joey Bosa, but his strip-sack to open the third quarter flipped momentum to Buffalo’s favor. Bosa’s hit on Aaron Rodgers led to a scoop-and-score for Christian Benford.

Alec Anderson and Ryan Van Demark: Setting a record for rushing yards at Acrisure Stadium with backup offensive tackles is quite the accomplishment. Alec Anderson and Ryan Van Demark both stepped up against an excellent Steelers defensive line to help Buffalo run wild on Pittsburgh.

Sean McDermott & Bobby Babich: Buffalo’s defense made excellent second-half adjustments last week on Thursday Night Football. This week, the defensive game plan was outstanding from start to finish.

Pittsburgh’s lone score came on a short field following a James Cook fumble. Outside of that, the Steelers struggled for most of the game to sustain drives. The team finished with 108 yards passing and 58 yards rushing.

Joe Brady: The passing game still has a ton of issues, but Joe Brady deserves some credit for figuring out how to run on the Steelers. Once he did, Buffalo’s offensive coordinator spammed the same play over and over again. It wasn’t always pretty, but Brady’s game plan worked.

WORRIED

Matt Prater: You have to make the easy ones. Matt Prater has been pretty consistent this season, but he has now missed extra points in back-to-back games.