ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ 23-20 loss against the Houston Texans on Sunday at NRG Stadium:
1. The Bills will feel the sting of this loss for multiple reasons, not the least of which is having it decided by a 59-yard field goal as time expired. However, the biggest will be Sean McDermott’s poor clock management at the end.
After a Texans punt, Buffalo took over at its own 3 with 32 seconds remaining, no timeouts and the score tied at 20-20. Given that Houston had all three of its timeouts, the Bills should have been running the football and forcing the Texans to stop the clock three straight times to minimize their ability to get the ball back with enough time remaining to set up the winning field goal.
Instead, Josh Allen, who had missed a play shortly before the series while being evaluated for a head injury, threw three incompletions in a row. The first stopped the clock with 27 seconds left. The second stopped it with 21 seconds left. The third stopped it with 16 seconds left.
The strategy made ZERO sense. Backed up against your own end zone under those circumstances, the only thing to do is play for overtime.
A Sam Martin punt put the Texans on the Buffalo 46 with seven seconds left. After C.J. Stroud connected with Dare Ogunbowale for five yards to the Bills’ 41, the Texans only had to use their first timeout to stop the clock at two seconds and set up Ka’imi Fairbairn’s game-winning kick.
“I’ve got to do a better job on that,” McDermott told reporters. “That starts with me. Efficient offense was the better approach.”
One more questionable coaching note. Cornerback Rasul Douglas said after the game he thought the Bills only had 10 men on the field for the play that set up the winning field goal.
2. So much was made of this being a “revenge game” for Stefon Diggs, with him being extra motivated to show up his former team. The Texans even made him a game captain for that very reason.
However, the theme didn’t amount to much. Diggs did finish as the game’s leading receiver with six catches on a game-high eight targets for 82 yards. He’ll have the satisfaction of the victory in the first meeting against the Bills since they traded him to Houston last April.
“Obviously, it meant a lot to me,” Diggs told reporters. “Held it in all week, energy-wise. Tried not to bring it up too much … I just tried to keep it professional. But, obviously, in the back of my mind, it meant a lot to me. I wanted to do more showing than telling.”
Yet, it would be a stretch to say that Diggs’ performance made a substantial difference in the outcome. The Texans’ lone explosive play through the air was a 67-yard touchdown from Stroud to No. 1 receiver Nico Collins that gave them a 14-3 lead late in the first quarter. Collins suffered a hamstring injury on the play that forced an early exit and took plenty away from Houston’s offense.
The Texans used a methodical game plan that leaned heavily on a running game that only generated 3.4 yards per carry on 28 attempts but managed to keep Buffalo’s defense mostly off-balance.
Stroud threw for 331 yards and a TD, but also helped keep the Bills in the game with an interception that he threw directly to Terrel Bernard and a fumble that set up a Tyler Bass field goal that knotted the game at 20-20 with 3:18 left.
3. Josh Allen had a bad game, by any quarterbacking standards, and terrible by the lofty ones he has established.
He completed only nine of 30 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown for a passer rating of 56.4. Baked into Allen’s struggles is the fact the Bills showed, once again, they do not have a legitimate No. 1 threat at wide receiver.
Separation from coverage was a huge issue in last Sunday night’s blowout loss at Baltimore. On Sunday, the Bills’ wide receivers were targeted 18 times, yet only had four catches.
One can cite the fact that the team’s most effective wideout, Kahlil Shakir, was missed with an ankle injury. Still, that paltry production is beyond unacceptable and is not a formula to allow this team to make a meaningful postseason run, despite what is shaping up as a wide-open AFC.
The Bills also have yet to find the presumed play-making alternative to their weak group of receivers in tight end Dalton Kincaid. He was targeted six times, but only caught two passes for 34 yards.
Meanwhile, Allen looked off from the game’s start. He wasn’t helped by dropped passes, but also misfired on some throws on the way to a career-worst 1-for-9 beginning. He also had two near interceptions before halftime.
Allen was frequently under duress from the Texans’ pass rush, which did a solid job of keeping him on the pocket and limiting his signature chain-moving runs.
4. It’s fair to say the defense held up remarkably well without its best safety, Taylor Rapp (concussion); All-Pro nickel back Taron Johnson (forearm), and tackle Ed Oliver (hamstring).
Bernard’s return helped. He finished with an interception, five tackles and a pass defense.
A pair of rookies stepped up reasonably well. Though Rapp’s replacement, Cole Bishop, was burned on Collins’ score, he did help with tightening things up in coverage the rest of the way. DeWayne Carter, who replaced Oliver, was a noticeable force in stuffing the many runs the Texans tried through the middle.
The Texans have the passing game capable of doing much more than it was able to achieve Sunday. The Bills’ defense at least deserves credit for that.
5. At 3-2, the Bills suddenly find themselves in less of a commanding position in the AFC East and now are looking up at the Texans and other clubs in the conference.
A Week 6 loss against the New York Jets on Monday Night Football would not only put them at 3-3 but would also put them a half-game behind the Jets for the division lead.
That game looked more winnable before the Bills’ two-game losing streak. The Jets have more than their share of issues, including shaky coaching. But they still have a competent quarterback in Aaron Rodgers and a defense capable of at least posing a challenge, especially at MetLife Stadium.
The Bills are in dire need of a get-well win in that one.