Bills, Steelers Wild Card Playoff Fantasy Football Takeaways: Josh Allen, Dalton Kincaid, Stefon Diggs, Mason Rudolph, George Pickens and More

The Wild Card Round wrapped up Monday with a pair of games. Let’s take a look at some of the top performers from each game, just like we did for the first four playoff games.

We already looked at the Houston Texans’ win over the Cleveland Browns, the Kansas City Chiefs’ win over the Miami Dolphins, the Green Bay Packers’ win over the Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions’ win over the Los Angeles Rams. Now it’s time to dive into the Buffalo Bills’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Bills Lead from Start to Finish

Buffalo scored the first three touchdowns of the contest, but Pittsburgh eventually snuck back within seven points early in the fourth quarter. The Bills put the game away with another touchdown drive to finish off a 31-17 victory.

Quarterback Josh Allen had a fantastic game, completing 21-of-30 passes for 203 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. As if that wasn’t enough, Allen rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown on eight attempts.

Allen showed why he was the top fantasy quarterback all season, and took care of the ball - which is the only negative people can usually complain about with him. The matchups will be tougher the rest of the postseason, but it’d be hard to argue against starting Allen as long as the Bills are alive.

I think if fantasy owners had to draft their rosters for the 2024-25 season today, Allen would probably be the first quarterback chosen. Turnovers will likely remain an issue, but Allen is also capable of games like he had Monday every time he steps on the field, and that definitely outweighs the few negatives.

Rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid only caught half of his six targets, but went for 59 yards and a touchdown. 

Kincaid is a trusted target for Allen, and should remain heavily involved the rest of the season. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Kincaid drafted inside the top-five TEs next season, especially if he can keep delivering big games in the postseason.

Fellow TE Dawson Knox made his one catch count, scoring a 9-yard touchdown on the play.

Knox hasn’t delivered many big games for the Bills this season, but has now scored in back-to-back weeks. I’m fascinated to see what Buffalo does with Knox in the offseason given the emergence of Kincaid. Many teams around the league would love to add Knox to their offense.

Wide receiver Stefon Diggs finished the game with 52 receiving yards on seven grabs and nine targets.

There was a lot of talk about Diggs having a slow finish to the season, but he’s had seven catches in each of the last two games and combined for over 130 yards. He hasn’t scored in six weeks, but will remain a solid fantasy asset going into the next round. 

I’m curious to see how fantasy owners view Diggs’ finish to the season and what it might do for his draft stock going into next season. The slow finish might allow you to land Diggs late in the second round, or even the third, and that’d be fantastic value for a receiver of his caliber.

Khalil Shakir caught Allen’s other touchdown - it was the score that put the game away. Shakir finished with 31 yards and the score on three grabs and targets.

The Bills played without Gabe Davis, so they needed Shakir to at least make a couple plays in this one. Shakir didn’t have a monster game, but he was able to find the end zone for the first time in seven games, which allowed him to post a decent fantasy score.

The backfield was powered by James Cook, but Ty Johnson also got a decent amount of work. Cook finished with 84 total yards on 22 touches, while Johnson had 26 rushing yards on eight attempts.

Cook’s final line wasn’t spectacular, but his fantasy output was solid in PPR formats because of his four catches. I’d assume he’ll get a higher percentage of the touches next week with a closer game. 

I brought Johnson up not because his game was surprising, but because he looks like a pretty good talent for a backup. I’d imagine the Bills try to bring him back to serve as the No. 2 to Cook, but another team might throw more money at him and give him a chance for a bit bigger role.

Steelers Can’t Overcome Slow Start

Pittsburgh finished the game with 324 total yards. It’s not a huge amount, but it’s enough to win games. The Steelers’ two turnovers played a big part in the eventual defeat.

Mason Rudolph was just 22-of-39 passing on the night. He went for 229 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw an interception in the end zone. Rudolph rushed twice for 16 yards.

Rudolph was pretty solid after taking over as the team’s starter, but you knew at some point that he was going to hold the team back from winning. He did enough this season to earn another backup job, whether that be in Pittsburgh or somewhere else.

George Pickens finished the game with 50 yards on five catches and 11 targets. He also lost a fumble.

Pickens was pretty good for the Steelers during their late-season run, but he was held relatively in check in this one. He boosted his fantasy draft stock going into next season, but until the Steelers figure out their quarterback situation, Pickens’ ceiling will be capped.

Tight end Pat Freiermuth had one of his better games of the season, going for 76 yards on five grabs and eight targets.

Injuries hampered Freiermuth all season, and the lack of a consistent quarterback also hurt. Hopefully the offseason will help Freiermuth put the injury concerns in the past, and then a quarterback can step up next year to boost the TEs fantasy value. As of now, Freiermuth looks like a sleeper pick in the latter half of drafts - if he’s even picked.

Diontae Johnson and Calvin Austin caught Rudolph’s touchdown passes. Johnson went for 48 yards on four grabs and seven targets, while Austin had just one catch on two targets for 7 yards.

Both guys are solid complementary pieces for the Steelers’ offense, but again, until a better quarterback is in place, fantasy owners are probably only going to want to start the top option, and that’s Pickens at this point.

Pittsburgh’s running back duo of Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren had very similar statlines in the losing effort. Warren rushed for 38 yards on eight carries and caught both his targets for 16 yards. Harris rushed for 37 yards on 12 carries, while adding 15 receiving yards on two catches and three targets.

Those two guys were a great 1-2 punch this season, at least in real life. For fantasy purposes, it was frustrating because they split the workload pretty evenly, and pretty much whoever had the biggest play of the week was the top fantasy performer. They would both benefit from a better passing game, but both should be drafted in the middle rounds of drafts before next season.

Another thing I need to bring up for this game is that T.J. Watt wasn’t playing. It’s hard to say a single defensive player could have helped a team that was down three scores win a game, but Watt is an absolute star and the Bills’ offense probably wouldn’t have been nearly as good as it was with him out there. 

What that says to me is the Steelers need to have a backup plan in place in case Watt goes down in a future season. You won’t ever be able to replicate what Watt does, but a team should never be this poor without a single player out there. 

Does that mean Watt should be the Defensive Player of the Year?