Josh Allen Snow-Plows Steelers, Bills Advance to Divisional Round vs. Chiefs

The Buffalo Bills started hot and held off the Pittsburgh Steelers late in the AFC Wild Card on Monday.

Blasted by a blizzard that brought 40 inches of snow to Western New York, the Buffalo Bills had to wait an extra day before kicking off against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Highmark Stadium in the AFC Wild Card.

But the delay and ice-cold weather hardly slowed the Bills down -- and only made their fans even more rowdy, who helped clear the field and stands by shoveling snow in the days leading up to kickoff.

With a white blanket over the stands, the Bills were showered with thrown snow from the fans once the clock ran out on a 31-17 win over the Steelers on Monday night, setting up a Divisional Round matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs in Orchard Park next week.

© Kirby Lee, USA TODAY

Bills quarterback Josh Allen put together an MVP-worthy performance. He went 21 of 30 passing for 203 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. He added eight carries for 74 rushing yards and another score.

The Steelers were led by quarterback Mason Rudolph, who wen 22 of 39 passing for 229 yards, two touchdowns and one pick. Tight end Pat Freiermuth posted five grabs for a game-high 76 receiving yards while receiver George Pickens added five catches for 50 yards.

Allen and the Bills offense started hot and didn't look back despite the Steelers making it a one-score game at the start of the fourth quarter. Allen found tight ends Dawson Knox and Dalton Kincaid for a pair of scores in the first quarter to give Buffalo a quick 14-0 lead. In his playoff debut, Kincaid led the Bills with 59 receiving yards on three grabs.

The Steelers' first five drives went punt, punt, lost fumble, punt, interception. It was about as a bad of a start that coach Mike Tomlin could've envisioned.

That interception, which came in the end zone from second-year cornerback Kaiir Elam, helped lead to one of the plays of the season for Buffalo. Facing a 3rd and 7, Allen eluded defenders and bounced off of tackles en route to a 52-yard rushing touchdown to give the Bills a 21-0 lead.

It looked like Buffalo was on its way to a dominant blowout, but Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson found the end zone on a 10-yard touchdown with 1:39 left in the half. Pittsburgh maintained this momentum in the third quarter, as the defense held the Bills out of the end zone. Rookie Calvin Austin then had a seven-yard touchdown catch with 10:32 in the fourth to cut the Buffalo lead to seven at 24-17.

WATCH: Josh Allen Flexes on Steelers with 52-Yard Rushing Touchdown

Suddenly, we had ourselves a game.

But Allen and the Bills responded. He found Khalil Shakir for a Houdini-like 17-yard touchdown that saw the second-year receiver somehow escape the defense for the game-clinching score to extend the lead to 31-17.

The Bills now have a chance to get some playoff revenge over the Chiefs next week.