The Steelers have a long history of memorable moments throughout the years, and during the 2025 season we are going to highlight those moments against each week's opponent.
This week, we feature games against the Buffalo Bills.
Steelers 40, Buffalo Bills 21
AFC Divisional Playoff Game
January 6, 1996
Three Rivers Stadium
The Steelers jumped out to a 20-7 lead over the Buffalo Bills in the Divisional Playoff Game and never looked back, although the Bills did make it interesting when they pulled to within five at 26-21 in the fourth quarter.
The Steelers shut them down from that point on, though.
"Obviously it was a big win for us," said Coach Bill Cowher. "We certainly made it interesting. We had a lot of opportunities. You guys have seen Buffalo in the playoffs and there's no lead that's safe. We responded defensively with a couple of big turnovers. Neil (O'Donnell) played well. The big man (Bam Morris) took over running the football. We were opportunistic defensively. It was good to play a game here in Three Rivers. The fans were fantastic."
Quarterback Neil O'Donnell completed 19 of 35 passes for 262 yards and one touchdown, a 10-yard scoring strike to Ernie Mills, and two interceptions. It was the ground game, and kicker Norm Johnson, that would keep the Steelers on top.
Running back Bam Morris rushed for 106 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns, while John L. Williams had three carries for four yards, including a one-yard touchdown run. Johnson hit four field goals, helping to propel the Steelers to the 40-21 win.
Morris pounded it out when the Steelers needed him late.
"When you get Bam in there and you get him running well, he always falls forward," said O'Donnell. "He's a big kid. He keeps it third and two or three and that's what we try to strive for is keep it third and short or medium."
The defense had a strong outing, holding running back Thurman Thomas to just 46 yards on 13 carries, and one touchdown.
Quarterback Jim Kelly struggled, completing 14 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown, but threw three interceptions. Kelly left the game temporarily with an injury, giving way to Alex Van Pelt, but returned in the middle of a fourth quarter drive to throw a touchdown pass to Thomas.
On two of the final Bills drives, the Steelers would get the best of him, with interceptions by linebacker Jerry Olsavsky, the first of his career, and fellow linebacker Levon Kirkland, before Van Pelt came in to close out the game.
"I thought we did a good job against their football team," said defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. "They have a really fine offense, a really veteran of with great talent everywhere. You saw them gain 340 yards (rushing) last week and we knew that we couldn't allow that to happen. Our guys answered the challenge. He (Thurman Thomas) made some plays on us and they're going to do that. But on a whole, there were some plays I wish we'd played better, but I thought our guys played a tremendous game. When the game got close down there at the end, we came up with two great big takeaways and really safely put the game away."
Steelers 29, Buffalo Bills 24
January 2, 2005
Ralph Wilson Stadium
The Steelers put 29 points on the board against the Buffalo Bills, doing so in unorthodox fashion.
With just one offensive touchdown.
Quarterback Tommy Maddox, who started with Ben Roethlisberger resting for the playoffs, completed just 12 passes for 120 yards and one touchdown, while also throwing two interceptions and finishing with a quarterback rating of 43.8. His lone touchdown went to receiver Antwaan Randle El on a 16-yard pass in the first quarter.
Kicker Jeff Reed hit five field goals, giving the Steelers a buffer on the scoreboard.
But it would be the defense who would be the difference makers.
With 13:32 to play in the game, Ricardo Colclough sacked Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe, knocking the ball free. Linebacker James Harrison was there to catch the ball mid-air, returning it 19 yards for a 26-17 lead, one that would hold for the Steelers.
"My team helped me out with that," said Harrison. "We were blitzing, and the line was doing a stunt. There was an open space I went to, and when someone hit him on the backside the ball just fell to my lap.
"It says a lot about the back-ups and the character of this team. It's not really that much of a drop off when we have other guys step in, and we didn't want to see a drop off in production today."
The Steelers finished out the regular season with a 15-1 record heading into the postseason.
"It was a whale of a game played by our players," said Coach Bill Cowher. "It gave a lot of our guys some playing time that was much needed. It was a gutsy effort. That was a good football team we beat. To come up here and play in a hostile environment, we overcame some adversity at times during the game, but we kept playing and playing. It was a nice way to end the regular season."
Steelers 19, Buffalo Bills 16
November 28, 2010
Ralph Wilson Stadium
The Steelers got on the board fast, taking the ball 78 yards on 13 plays on their opening drive, with Rashard Mendenhall scoring on a one-yard touchdown run for an early 7-0 lead.
Mendenhall finished the game with a career-high 36 carries for a season-high 151 yards and a touchdown.
Kicker Shaun Suisham came through like a champ for the Steelers, connecting on four-of-four field goals, all from at least 40-yards out.
The game went back and forth, before the Bills tied it, 16-16, on a Rian Lindell 49-yard field goal that sent it into overtime.
The Bills won the overtime coin toss but missed a golden opportunity on a dropped touchdown pass, forcing a punt. The Steelers took over at their own 20-yard line and marched down the field for Suisham's game-winning field goal.
Steelers 23, Buffalo Bills 6
September 12, 2021
Highmark Stadium
Sometimes it's the most unlikely of heroes who make a game-changing play, and that happened on this fall afternoon in Orchard Park, New York.
Special teams coordinator Danny Smith, who preaches splash plays to his unit, got not just one, but two on one play.
With the Steelers holding onto a 13-10 fourth quarter lead, defensive tackle Cameron Heyward sacked Bills quarterback Josh Allen for a loss to the Bills 23-yard line. Bills punter Matt Haack, facing a fourth-and-12, never stood a chance.
Safety Miles Killebrew, who was brought to Pittsburgh for moments like this, blocked Haack's punt, but it was young linebacker Ulysees Gilbert III who was able to scoop it up and returned it nine yards for a touchdown, extending the lead to 20-10.
"It was a big play for us," said Killebrew. "It was a moment in the game where it was a big momentum shift. It was a good team effort. I know a lot of guys don't know how things happen on special teams. It's very rarely one guy's victory when something big happens, and this is one of those moments where it was a culmination of a lot of guys doing their job. I just happened to be at the point of attack. I was very thankful that I was able to make it happen. And then my boy Ulysees scoops it up and scores.
"It happened very fast, but it goes back to what we were practicing all week. Danny Smith wrote up a few good plays that we were able to execute, and especially against a good outfit like Buffalo. So, everything just kind of happened the way that we had hoped it would."
Gilbert, a sixth-round pick in 2019, was at the right place at the right time.
"It was a play we had been running all week in practice and just a lot of effort and great execution," said Gilbert. "Then when the ball was right there, I just saw that out of the corner of my eye. I just picked it up and ran to the end zone."
