ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- Le'Veon Bell long ago got accustomed to playing in wintry weather.

"Growing up, there'd be times where it'd be snowing outside and we'd go outside and play on Christmas Day," said Bell, who grew up in central Ohio and played college football at Michigan State. "It never fazed me."

Bell dashed through the snow on Sunday at New Era Field, setting a franchise-record with 236 rushing yards and scoring three touchdowns to lead the Pittsburgh Steelers to their fourth straight victory, 27-20 over the Buffalo Bills.

"Our guys embrace playing in the snow," he said. "I know there's a lot of people thinking, 'Oh, it's snowing, it's cold,' things like that. And that's what makes me get ready for the game because I know there's people out there that don't want to play in the snow."

The Steelers (8-5) have rode Bell back to the top of the AFC North standings. He has rushed for 620 yards in their last four wins and has surpassed 1,000 yards this season for the second time in his career.

"He's a Columbus, Ohio, and East Lansing runner, and that's one of the things that attracted us to him in the draft process," Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said. "These environments are not foreign to him. As a matter of fact, he relishes the opportunity to perform in them."

Bell also caught four passes for 62 yards, giving him a career-high 298 yards from scrimmage, the second most in team history 23 more than the Bills' offense complied. Bell has gained 900 total yards in his last five games and is up to 1,616 yards in 10 games this season.

This was the second time Bell scored three times in a game and the first time he had three rushing touchdowns. He's the first Steelers player to rush for more than 200 yards and score three times in the same game more than once.

Bell carried the Steelers' offense on a day when Ben Rothlisberger was not at his best. Rothlisberger threw for 220 yards with a season-high three interceptions and had a season-low 37.8 passer rating.

The Bills (6-7) have lost two in a row and are likely to extend the longest playoff drought in North American sports to 17 seasons, raising questions about whether coach Rex Ryan and quarterback Tyrod Taylor figure into the team's future.

"I'm very upset that we didn't make the playoffs," Bills receiver Sammy Watkins said. "But those are things that we've got to get over. Until we learn from it, we won't be in the playoffs.

"We've got to be a smarter team, a well-coached team. And we've got to be better prepared every week."

Taylor was 15 of 25 for 228 yards, two touchdowns and interception, Watkins caught four passes for 54 yards and his first touchdown of the season, and LeSean McCoy rushed for 27 yards and a touchdown for Buffalo.

Bell's rushing total was the highest ever allowed by the Bills' defense. Miami's Jay Ajayi ran for 214 yards against the Bills in Week 7. This is the first time Buffalo has allowed two players to rush for more than 200 yards in the same season.

"You never want to see anybody get 200 yards, and now two guys,” Bills linebacker Preston Brown said. "It looks horrible for us as a defense."

Bell tallied 240 total yards and all three of his touchdowns before the start of the fourth quarter. He gained 72 of the 82 yards on a third-quarter drive that ended with him walking in from 5 yards to make it 21-7.

Chris Boswell added field goals from 37 and 39 yards in the fourth quarter. Rookie Artie Burns' interception in Buffalo territory led to Boswell's first field goal.

Taylor threw a 40-yard touchdown to Charles Clay to make it 24-13 with 7:27 remaining. Dan Carpenter's point-after try hit the upright.

McCoy's 3-yard touchdown run brought the Bills within a touchdown with 1:28 left, but Carpenter's onside kick attempt rolled out of bounds and the Steelers were able to run out the rest of the clock.

Pittsburgh outgained the Buffalo 239-81 in building a 14-7 halftime lead. In the past four games, the Steelers have outscored their opponents 63-14 in the first half.

Pittsburgh produced 134 yards on its first two possessions and took the lead on Bell's 3-yard plunge midway through the first quarter.

The Steelers' opening drive ended when linebacker Lorenzo Alexander, the Bills' oldest player, made his first career interception. It was Roethlisberger's first red-zone interception in more than two seasons. Zach Brown also picked off Roethlisberger in the end zone in the third quarter.

Pittsburgh appeared to extend its lead late in the first quarter when William Gay returned an interception for a touchdown, but a defensive holding penalty on Bud Dupree negated the play.

Bell ran untouched for a 7-yard touchdown to make it 14-0 three minutes into the second quarter.

Buffalo cut into the lead when Stephon Gilmore returned an interception to the 7-yard line to set up Watkins' 8-yard touchdown catch.

NOTES: Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell broke Willie Parker's record of 223 rushing yards set on Dec. 7, 2006, against Cleveland. Antonio Brown holds the record for most yards from scrimmage with 306 against the Raiders on Nov. 8, 2015. ... Bills LT Cordy Glenn (back) and Steelers S Mike Mitchell (knee) were both able to return after getting injured in the first quarter. ... The Bills were without DT Kyle Williams (back) for the first time this season. ... Steelers DT Javon Hargrave (concussion) and LG Ramon Foster (chest) did not play. ... The start of the second half was delayed several minutes for groundskeepers to remove an accumulation of rubber pellets dug up by tractor plows clearing snow from the synthetic turf.