Shortly before kickoff, NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth in assessing Sunday night’s meeting between the Bills and Steelers, offered a telling insight.

“This is a very important game for both teams,” he said of the 11-1 AFC North leader and the 9-3 team pacing the East. “Is this the game when Buffalo ascends to the upper tier of teams in the league?”

Sixty minutes of football later, he had his answer.

The Bills, after an uneven first half, outplayed the Steelers after intermission and held on for a 26-15 victory.

Not only did Buffalo verify its place among the conference elite, but it also edged a bit closer to the AFC’s No. 2 playoff seed — Pittsburgh is 11-2 and the Bills 10-3 but with the head-to-head tiebreaker — and, if Cleveland beats Baltimore tonight, a postseason berth is assured.

In any case, with Miami (8-5) having lost to Kansas City, 33-27, earlier in the day, Buffalo leads the division by two full games and owns the tiebreaker over the Dolphins with three to play.

THE BILLS dominated the Steelers in a game when they were not at their best.

Quarterback Josh Allen, in the first half, fumbled once, avoided another when the play wasn’t reviewed, was intercepted once and eluded another when tight end Dawson Knox, bobbled a catch, regathered the ball, then lost it again and even though the ball never hit the ground, it was ruled a fumble recovery by Pittsburgh.

But, in the second half, Allen played the way he has for a good part of the season, throwing for touchdowns to wideouts Gabriel Davis and Stefon Diggs, and compiling a solid game stat sheet.

— Buffalo’s first takeaway was a “pick six” of Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger by nickel cornerback Taron Johnson, his first of the season and second of his career. It was Buffalo’s first defensive touchdown since November of 2018 when tight end Jason Croom fell on a fumble in the end zone on special teams. The last interception for a score came on Christmas Eve of 2017 at New England when safety Jordan Poyer scored on a 19-yard return.

Then, in the fourth quarter, cornerback Levi Wallace intercepted Roethlisberger, his second of the year.

— The Steelers’ first takeaway came when Allen was hit by defensive end Cameron Heyward as he threw with Pittsburgh cornerback Mike Hilton logging his first interception of the season. The second came on the bizarre Knox play. Pittsburgh cornerback Cameron Sutton got credit for the fumble recovery.

— Buffalo’s only sack of Roethlisberger was recorded by outside linebacker Matt Milano, giving him 2½ on the season.

— Davis, a rookie fourth-round pick, caught his team-leading sixth touchdown pass while fellow wideout Diggs had his fifth 100-yard receiving game of the season (10 catches, 130 yards).

— Allen fumbled for the eighth time this season when sacked by Steelers end Tyson Alualu — his second of the year — but Buffalo recovered. He has lost five of his bobbles this season and a second possible fumble when Sutton hit Allen’s arm was avoided when the play wasn’t reviewed and instead was ruled an incomplete pass as Pittsburgh didn’t challenge the call.

Alualu gave the Steelers a sack in 70 straight games, an NFL record.

— Buffalo rookie placekicker Tyler Bass has now made 11 straight field goals and 13 of the last 14 — including three of 54 yards or more — his lone miss in that stretch a 61-yarder just before halftime against Seattle. However, he missed his first extra point attempt against the Steelers.

— Poyer was the Bills leading tackler with nine including a team high six solo stops.

Steelers linebacker Avery Williamson has game highs in tackles (11) and solos (9).

— Regular play-by-play man Al Michaels was off with Mike Tirico handling that role with Collinsworth as analyst. Sideline reporter Michelle Tafoya was also off, replaced by Kathryn Tappen. Michaels, 76, has games off — “bye weeks” — and with his contract reportedly in its final year, NBC has reported Tirico is being groomed to eventually take over.

— Only two of the three Edmunds brothers were active. Buffalo middle linebacker Tremaine and Pittsburgh safety Terrell were active. They made NFL history as the first brothers to be picked in the first round of the NFL Draft in the same year. However, Steelers’ running back, Trey, is on injured reserve. All three were active last December when the Bills won, 17-10, at Heinz Field.

— Inactive for the Bills were quarterback Jake Fromm, running back T.J. Yeldon, safety Jaquan Johnson (ankle), tight end Tyler Kroft and defensive end Trent Murphy. It’s the third straight week that Murphy, who is healthy, has been inactive. Kroft, wjo spent three weeks on Covid-reserve, returned this week but wasn’t activated. That circumstance could bode ominously for the future of the two veterans with the franchise. The Bills also activated linebacker Tyrel Dodson from injured reserve.

— The Steelers inactives included starting cornerback Joe Haden (concussion) and backup running back Anthony McFarland Jr. In addition, linebacker Vince Williams went on the Covid-reserve list while fellow linebacker Robert Spillane (knee) went on injured reserve. Their places were taken by Marcus Allen and Williamson. Sutton replaced Haden.

(Chuck Pollock, a Times Herald senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@oleantimesherald.com)