Steelers Make History, While Bills Are History

Willie Parker, Brian St. Pierre and James Harrison. Who are these guys, you might ask?

They represent the collection of Pittsburgh backups and scrubs that kept the Steelers’ roll going, and ended the Buffalo Bills’ playoff hopes, 29-24, on Sunday.

“If there was a team that you could put up as a poster boy for a 53-man roster, it’s us,” said St. Pierre, the Steelers’ third-string quarterback, who was activated from the practice squad Friday. “It’s special.”

And so are the Steelers, who didn’t need Ben Roethlisberger, Jerome Bettis or a host of other starters to win their 14th game in a row to match the single-season record set by Miami in 1972. The Steelers also became only the fourth team in NFL history -- and first in the AFC -- to finish 15-1.

Parker, an undrafted rookie free agent, had 102 yards rushing, including a 58-yard run that set up Jeff Reed’s 37-yard field goal, Pittsburgh’s go-ahead score.

And then there was Harrison, the backup linebacker who returned a fumble 18 yards for a touchdown to secure the victory.

“It says a lot about the backups and the character of this team,” Harrison said.

“It’s a sense of pride. You don’t want to lose to anybody.”

The Steelers, who had clinched home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs, knocked off a Bill team that was among the hottest in the league.

Buffalo had a chance to earn its first playoff berth since 1999.

The Bills (9-7), who had overcome an 0-4 start, had a six-game win streak ended. Their loss put the New York Jets in.

“It’s rough,” left tackle Jonas Jennings said. “Everything was set up for us and ... we had to come out and handle our business and we came up short.”

Buffalo made it close when Willis McGahee scored his second touchdown of the game on a one-yard plunge with 78 seconds left.

But the Bills failed on an onside kick when Steeler cornerback Ike Taylor smothered the ball.

The Bills looked nothing like the team that outscored its opponents, 228-89, in its previous six games.

Buffalo managed only 267 yards, with seven three-and-outs.

And the defense couldn’t get the Steelers off the field, losing the time-of-possession battle by more than 11 minutes.

The game turned late in the third quarter after Buffalo’s Rian Lindell missed wide right on a 28-yard field-goal try that left the Bills clinging to a 17-16 lead.

The Steelers responded with 10 points in an 85-second span at the start of the fourth quarter.

Following Reed’s field goal, Bledsoe was blindsided by rookie cornerback Ricardo Colclough, who forced a fumble that fell directly into Harrison’s hands.

The Bills went three-and-out on their next possession, and the Steelers then ate up nearly nine minutes with a 14-play, 46-yard drive helped by two defensive penalties. It was capped by a 33-yard field goal by Reed, who kicked five field goals.

Antwaan Randle El also scored on a 16-yard Tommy Maddox pass.