Buffalo's Josh Allen celebrates during Sunday's win over the Steelers in Pittsburgh. (AP photo)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Josh Allen threw for a touchdown and ran for another, Joey Bosa sacked Aaron Rodgers to spring Christian Benford for a game-tilting, 17-yard scoop-and-score, and the Buffalo Bills pushed the Pittsburgh Steelers around in a 26-7 victory on Sunday.

Buffalo (8-4) bounced back from a loss at Houston by whipping Pittsburgh (6-6) up front. James Cook ran for 144 yards as the Bills piled up 249 yards on the ground and controlled the clock for nearly 42 minutes inside blustery Acrisure Stadium.

The swirling winds at one of the league’s trickiest venues made passing nearly impossible. Allen completed 15 of 23 for 123 yards with an interception and a 3-yard scoring toss to Keon Coleman, who returned to the active roster after being a healthy scratch the last two weeks due to disciplinary issues.

The reigning MVP essentially put the game away when he bulldozed across the goal line from 8 yards out early in the fourth quarter to give the Bills a 16-point lead. It was the 76th rushing touchdown of Allen’s career, breaking the NFL record for touchdown runs by a quarterback that he briefly shared with Cam Newton.

Missing both starting offensive tackles and facing one of the league’s best pass rushes, the Bills kept it simple. They attacked Pittsburgh’s leaky run defense repeatedly, and whenever Buffalo appeared on the verge of sputtering, Allen extended drives with his legs.

Things didn’t go quite as smoothly for Pittsburgh. Rodgers, playing with a brace protecting his broken left wrist, was largely ineffective and missed the chunk of one drive early in the second half after getting drilled by Bosa on the first play of the third quarter.

Rodgers fumbled on the play, and Benford picked up the loose ball and sprinted to the end zone to turn a 7-3 halftime deficit into a 10-7 lead. The 41-year-old quarterback left the field with a bloody nose.

Mason Rudolph filled in for Rodgers for a series and threw an interception that ended up in Benford’s hands. Buffalo marched 56 yards in eight plays, and Allen’s fourth-down flip to Coleman gave the Bills firm control.

Rodgers returned but finished 10 of 21 for 117 yards as the Steelers lost for the fifth time in seven games while being booed frequently.

Despite the swoon, Pittsburgh remains in a tie with Baltimore for the AFC North lead. The rivals meet twice over the final five weeks.

Buffalo’s hopes of catching AFC East-leading New England remain alive, and the brand of football the Bills displayed in the late-November chill could serve them well down the stretch.

Injuries

Bills: Bosa sustained a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter and did not return with Buffalo leading comfortably.

Steelers: LB Patrick Queen exited late in the first half with a right hip injury and did not return. … CB James Pierre left in the second half after entering the concussion protocol.

Up next

Bills: Host Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday.

Steelers: Visit Baltimore next Sunday, hoping to bounce back and take control of the division.

JETS 27, FALCONS 24

Former Patriots kicker Nick Folk had already atoned for his first field goal miss of the season. With the game on the line, he kicked the New York Jets to a comeback victory at MetLife Stadium.

Folk lined a 56-yarder through a heavy mist as time expired to lead the Jets past the Atlanta Falcons 27-24 on Sunday.

“Any time Nick kicks the ball,” coach Aaron Glenn said, “I feel like it’s good.”

But in a game between two struggling teams that was anything but pretty, Folk’s kick was also far from it.

The 41-year-old kicker in his second stint with the Jets said the 38-yard line — a 56-yard field goal try — was his limit in pregame warmups on a cold and damp day. Tyrod Taylor got the offense to that very spot on the field and then Folk got just enough on the football to bounce back from an earlier miss on a 55-yarder.

“I was like, all right, I’m pretty sure with a little adrenaline I can let one ride,” Folk said before breaking into a wide grin. “So I just went up there and gave it a boot.”

He was mobbed at midfield by his teammates as the Jets fans in a drenched and half-empty MetLife Stadium went wild.

“It felt amazing,” Taylor said of the win. “It wasn’t a perfect game, by any means. We speak about our brand of football and being complementary to one another in all three phases. I think this was the perfect game to show that.”

Taylor went 19 of 33 for 172 yards and a touchdown pass and also ran for 44 yards and a score in his second start in a row for the benched Justin Fields as the Jets (3-9) snapped a two-game skid. Adonai Mitchell had a career-high eight receptions for 102 yards and his first NFL touchdown, and Breece Hall ran for 68 yards and a score.

After the defense held Kirk Cousins and the Falcons to a three-and-out, the Jets got the ball back at their 43 with 35 seconds left and two timeouts remaining. Taylor had a 14-yard run and hit Mitchell for 10 and 5 yards on the drive to put Folk in position for his winner.

Cousins went 21 of 33 for 234 yards and a touchdown in his second start for the injured Michael Penix Jr. Bijan Robinson ran for 142 yards and a score and caught five passes for 51 yards for the Falcons (4-8), who lost for the sixth time in seven games.

“It’s always tough to lose in this league and it’s a lot tougher when you don’t have production,” Cousins said. “I’m proud of the way Bijan played and the guys around him who helped him have a day like he had. … I just wish it had been in a win, and he does, too.”

Cousins threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to David Sills to put the Falcons up 24-17 with 8:46 remaining. It was the 291st career TD toss for Cousins, who broke a tie with Pro Football Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas for 17th on the NFL’s all-time list.

But Taylor scored on a 10-yard run that capped a 15-play drive during which the Jets converted three third-down plays and one on fourth down — a 2-yard keeper by Taylor on fourth-and-1 at the 11 — to tie it at 24 with 1:53 remaining.

DOLPHINS 21, SAINTS 17

When the Miami Dolphins needed a big play on Sunday, their defense delivered.

Again.

Minkah Fitzpatrick had a fumble recovery and an interception, helping Miami knock off Tyler Shough and the New Orleans Saints at Miami Gardens for their third consecutive victory. The solid performance by the defense comes after the Dolphins shut down Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills three weeks ago, and got a game-sealing interception against the Washington Commanders in Spain the following week.

“I really appreciate how much this defense has been fighting,” Fitzpatrick said. “We obviously had a pretty rough start to the season. Even throughout our downs and our low periods, we were sticking together.”

De’Von Achane rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown for the Dolphins (5-7), who kept their slim playoffs hopes alive. New Orleans (2-10) has lost six of seven.

The Saints trailed 16-0 at halftime, but they closed to 19-17 with 1:17 remaining on Shough’s 15-yard touchdown pass to Devaughn Vele.

Shough was intercepted by Fitzpatrick on the 2-point try, and the safety returned it to the opposite end zone to give Miami two points.

The rookie QB got another shot after the Saints recovered the ensuing onside kick by Charlie Smyth — a former Gaelic football player from Northern Ireland making his NFL regular-season debut. But Miami’s defense stopped Shough on fourth-and-1 at the Dolphins 36 to end the game.

“You hope that they can (get a stop),” Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said, “and the beautiful thing is, they did. They came through for us. Regardless of what that looks like, we won the game.”

Smyth connected on a 56-yard field goal to make it 19-11 with 6:08 remaining before Shough nearly completed the comeback. Despite a poor first half that featured an interception and a strip sack, Shough finished with 239 yards and two touchdowns.

Tagovailoa was not particularly sharp, completing 12 of 23 passes for 157 yards with an interception. He leads the NFL with 14 picks, which also matches his career high from 2023.

The Dolphins recorded 164 yards rushing behind Achane, who finished with 22 carries and topped 1,000 yards for the first time in his three-year career. Achane scored his 10th touchdown of the season on a 29-yard run on Miami’s opening drive, which ended up being the team’s only TD of the afternoon.

The Saints, who entered the game tied for the second-worst scoring offense in the NFL, got nothing going offensively until the opening drive of the second half, when Shough capped a 10-play, 65-yard drive — more than the Saints’ 63 first-half yards — with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave. Shough then converted the 2-point try on a run to make it 16-8.

The Dolphins didn’t respond until early in the fourth, when Tagovailoa, after nearly throwing a second interception, found Jaylen Waddle for a 22-yard pickup that set up Riley Patterson’s 33-yard kick — his fourth of the day.