Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers kick off in week 13

FIRST QUARTER

PITTSBURGH’S SECOND POSSESSION – Three plays, six yards, 1:38, punt – Buffalo forced a three & out but was called for holding on the punt return and take over at their own 13-yard line.

BUFFALO’S SECOND POSSESSION – Seven plays, 45 yards, 4:12, punt – James Cook and Ray Davis helped rush the ball well into Pittsburgh territory, but penalties have been an issue on the offensive line with no Dion Dawkins or Spencer Brown and a windy day makes it tough to attempt long field goals. Steelers take over.

PITTSBURGH’S FIRST POSSESSION – Six plays, 12 yards, 3:40, punt – Pittsburgh picked up one first down, but on another third down, Tre White broke up a very well thrown Aaron Rodgers pass, forcing a Steelers punt and giving the ball back over to the Bills.

BUFFALO’S FIRST POSSESSION – Seven plays, 40 yards, 3:49, interception – Buffalo’s first drive looked promising with James Cook doing most of the heavy lifting, but a Josh Allen interception stalled it and gave Pittsburgh good field position.

PREGAME

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WHEC) – The Buffalo Bills will travel to the Pittsburgh Steelers in an important AFC clash with the postseason still a few wins away.

You would think the Bills played their home games at nearby Six Flags Darien Lake with how much of a rollercoaster season it has been. Since winning their first four games of the season, Buffalo’s gone 3-4, not being able to put together a similar winning streak and solidify themselves in the AFC playoff picture.

Now they take on a Pittsburgh Steelers team that enters at 6-5 and will host the Bills in a game that seems extremely important for the AFC Wild Card picture. As it stands, the Bills trail the New England Patriots by 2.5 games in the AFC East. New England also has the tiebreaker. Pittsburgh is tied for the AFC North lead with Baltimore, but with Lamar Jackson back, it seems as if the Steelers’ path to the playoffs is also through the Wild Card.

If the Bills win Sunday, they’ll be 8-4 and close to wrapping up another postseason appearance. If the Steelers win, they’ll have the head-to-head tiebreaker and Buffalo will really need a strong finish to even make the playoffs.

Important information:

Teams: Buffalo Bills (7-4) at Pittsburgh Steelers (6-5)
Where: Acrisure Stadium (Pittsburgh, PA)
When: Sunday, Nov. 30 at 4:25
How to watch: CBS

Series history:

All-time record: Steelers lead, 17-13
Last game: Bills won, 31-17 (Jan. 15, 2024)
Longest winning streak: Steelers (6), 2001-2016
Current winning streak: Bills (2), 2022-Present
- The Bills have won four of the last five games since Josh Allen came to town

Player to watch: Ray Davis

After returning a kickoff for a touchdown in the loss to the Houston Texans, it’ll be interesting to see how much more, if any, the Buffalo Bills plan to use Ray Davis.

On the season, Davis only as 24 carries for 44 yards and 4 receptions – a much reduced role compared to his rookie season where Davis carried the ball 113 times for 442 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Of course, James Cook’s in the midst of his best NFL season and Ty Johnson is proving to be one of the top third down backs in the league. But Davis showed his skill on the kickoff return TD – and it may open the door for a small increase in offensive snaps and touches.

For a team looking for anything to help out offensively, it might be time to get more creative.

News10 NBC score predictions:

*Each week, the News10NBC crew will pick the game. At the end of the year, the person with the best record WINS! Tiebreaker is given each week to whoever’s pick came the closest in terms of margin of victory.*