Buffalo Bills vs. Pittsburgh Steelers first half open thread

The Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers are set to kick off in around fifteen minutes for their Super Wild Card Playoff matchup. For the Bills, they earned the AFC’s No. 2 seed on the final weekend of the season thanks to a 21-14 defeat of the Miami Dolphins. For the Steelers, they earned the No. 7 seed thanks to a win over the Baltimore Ravens coupled with a loss by the Jacksonville Jaguars on the season’s final weekend.

Buffalo has won six consecutive games; Pittsburgh has won three consecutive games The Steelers boast the NFL’s sixth-best scoring defense this season; Buffalo has the fourth-best scoring defense in the league this year. The biggest difference between the two squads, who are separated by just one victory in the standings, is in the success of their offense. Buffalo was the league’s sixth-highest scoring team, while Pittsburgh was just No. 28 in scoring this season.

Much of those struggles came before Mason Rudolph took over the quarterback position for Pittsburgh, however, as his efficient, steady play has buoyed the offense and elevated the play of running back Najee Harris, who ran for over 300 yards and five touchdowns over the season-ending three-game win streak. For Buffalo, the formula has been simple: When quarterback Josh Allen throws the ball to the guys wearing Buffalo uniforms instead of the guys on the opposing team, the offense looks pretty fantastic.

Our first-half open thread is here, friends. Please remember to be civil to each other. For that classic game-thread feel, toggle the comments to “oldest.” And, most importantly, enjoy the game wherever it is that you’re watching.

Go Bills!