The 2025 Buffalo Bills season has been written, but the book is incomplete. Before we cast our full attention toward the 2026 season, let’s take one last glance back over our shoulder for our annual look at the Plays That Defined the prior campaign.
For any newcomers, first and foremost; Welcome! When it comes to the “rules” of this exercise, we’re not voting for our favorite highlight necessarily, but the one that best captures the essence of the game. Put differently, if you had to choose just one play
to show someone to explain as much of the contest as possible, which would you choose?
Week 13; Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers
At 7 – 4 after a loss to the Houston Texans, the Buffalo Bills were on the road again to face the 6 – 5 Steelers. With the season taking shape, this pivotal contest in the Conference could have seen the two teams even up in record with a Bills loss. The first half was either a display of defensive dominance, pitiful offense, or a combination of the two. Both teams had only scored once, with Buffalo’s field goal trailing Pittsburgh’s touchdown at the break.
The Bills’ defense got tired of waiting for Josh Allen and company to score and took the matter into their own hands to start the third quarter. That score kickstarted three from the offense while the defense remained airtight. Down 3 to 7 after two quarters, the final score of 26 to 7 wouldn’t have casual fans thinking it was a tight affair for a good chunk of the game.
James Cook run (Q1; 14:54)
This was not James Cook’s best run. That was a 31-yarder. It wasn’t his worst. In some measures, you could say that Cook didn’t have a great day running. He fumbled twice, with one lost. He had no touchdowns and he only converted one third down.
What this run is though, is the first of the day. Cook carried it 32 times at a respectable 4.5 yards per carry. THe Bills ran it 51 times total. You read that right. That led to an insane 41:59 time of possession, though to be fair a dominant defense was just as pivotal for that achievement. You’ve heard of running to set up the pass, right? This was running to set up the run.
Josh Allen interception (Q1; 11:17)
Let’s face it, out of all the games this season, this is the one that practically demands a defensive highlight to represent it. That said, the sluggish offensive start is also a pretty strong narrative. This could have been a lopsided game even earlier had the Bills taken care of business on offense. The first four drives were this interception, punt, punt, fumble.
Bosa strip sack and Benford touchdown (Q3; 14:54)
With the game this tight and neither offense exactly inspiring confidence, the first team to find a spark was liable to end up the victor. On the first play from scrimmage after halftime, Joey Bosa wrecked Aaron Rodgers and Christian Benford scooped up the loose ball for the score. Buffalo took the lead with this play and never looked back.
Greg Rousseau tackle for loss(Q4; 10:16)
It’s the fourth quarter, but there’s ten minutes to go. Buffalo is up by sixteen points. Pittsburgh isn’t out of it yet. On 4th & 2 they gotta go for it despite being in easy field goal range. The distance is manageable. Greg Rousseau shut it down and put a pin in the Bills win. The Bills ate up nearly the rest of the clock, booted a field goal to go up three scores, and shut the door emphatically on the Steelers.
