In the first half between the Bills and Steelers game, it was very boring. There is no other way to describe it. It was a 7-3 ball game going into halftime, and it seemed like neither offense could get going unless they had great field advantage. However, the main turnaround for the Bills actually started after a questionable no-call late hit on Josh Allen.
Allen and the Bills were going down the field in hopes to get into scoring position, but they didn’t get anything from that drive. Little did we know that it would be that drive that sparked something for the Bills all because of what happened to Allen.
Nearing the end of the first half, Allen scrambled to the right to pick up the first down and then Steelers’ linebacker Patrick Queen lowered himself and hit Allen well-beyond the point where Allen gave himself up and it was a no-doubt late hit, but it wasn’t called. There was tension and players were shoving each other and that’s what truly started the locked-in moment for the Bills.
No-call late hit on Josh Allen was biggest difference maker for Bills' win
According to Bills’ beat reporter Sal Capaccio, there were “several” Bills players that “felt the energy and demeanor of the team change on the sidelines after Josh Allen was hit by Patrick Queen”, referring to the late hit by Queen that wasn’t called for a penalty.
Carpaccio then reported that Bills’ offensive lineman Alec Anderson told him that the team “tries to keep 17 [Josh Allen] as clean as possible” and that when someone “goes out there and does a cheap shot like that, it kind of wakes everybody up.” Anderson also stated that the game was going to be a “Mike Tyson fight” after that hit.
Several Bills players told me in the locker room they felt the energy and demeanor of the team changed on the sidelines after Josh Allen was hit by Patrick Queen just before the 2:00 warning in the first half (there was no penalty called). Alec Anderson said: “we try to keep 17…
— Sal Capaccio 🏈 (@SalSports) December 1, 2025
Allen is well respected on the team and the offensive line knows that they have a big task to protect him. Once that late hit from Queen came, it surely changed how Buffalo played the game. They were more physical and they didn’t let up at all in the second half. Buffalo turned it up at halftime and the results spoke for themselves.
The Bills are all about protecting their franchise guy and not letting anyone hit him, especially when it was a cheap shot.