Houston, We Have Problems

The Bills fell to Texans 23–20, thanks to a walk-off 59 yard field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn. While a close loss to a talented team is one thing, the numerous problems that arose throughout the game on and off the field showed how much work the Bills still have in front of them this season.

Out of Sync

Buffalo started with the ball, but consecutive incomplete passes led to an early three-and-out. Houston couldn’t do any better, punting after three plays.

A 10 yard holding penalty gave the Bills 1st and 20, where Josh Allen and Mack Hollins couldn’t connect on what could’ve been a 59 yard touchdown. It seemed as though Hollins struggled to track the ball in the air, with the ball falling in between his outstretched arms as he lost his balance and fell to the ground. If Hollins kept his footing and made the catch, it was surely a touchdown. Buffalo was able to move the chains thanks to a 24 yard catch and run from James Cook. A 12 yard run from Cook moved Buffalo into field goal range, which the Bills would eventually settle for. Tyler Bass was good from 38, giving the Bills a 3–0 lead.

Houston responded with several chunk plays leading to a quick touchdown. Backup running back Dare Ogunbowale took a pass 28 yards down the sideline, then CJ Stroud connected with Nico Collins for a gain of 11. Cam Akers, getting the start at running back due to the injuries of Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce, gashed Buffalo’s run defense for gains of 11 and 15, finding the endzone on the latter.

A false start gave Buffalo 3rd and 11, and an incomplete pass to rookie Keon Coleman (that he had a chance to catch along the sideline) forced the Bills to bring out Sam Martin for another three-and-out punt.

Collins, maybe the best wide receiver in the NFL this season, ran right down the middle of Buffalo’s defense, with Stroud’s perfect pass giving him a 67 yard touchdown on the first play of Houston’s drive. There was clearly miscommunication on the play, with Rasul Douglas later sharing that he expected help from Cole Bishop, the rookie who was getting his first career start.

Two more incomplete passes from Allen led to another Bills punt, which former Bill Robert Woods returned for 17 yards.

Welcome Back Bernard

A five yard tackle for loss from Christian Benford gave the Texans 3rd and 14, which they nearly converted on with a 13 yard checkdown to Ogunbowale. Facing 4th and 1 from Buffalo’s 16, Houston opted to go for it. Ogunbowale’s run of the middle was stuffed, thanks to great penetration from Buffalo’s defensive line, and Terrel Bernard’s leap over the line of scrimmage to hit the running back and prevent him from gaining a yard. This was Bernard’s first game back from injury, after he hurt his pec in Week 2 against Miami.

Unfortunately, the Bills could not answer with points, despite finding more success moving the ball. Buffalo moved the chains twice, both on completions to Hollins. A loss of seven on first down on a Cook run stalled the drive, and the Bills would punt three plays later.

Both teams traded three-and-outs, and Houston was able to hit a 50 yard field goal as time expired in the first half.

Signs of Life for the Offense

Houston added to their lead to begin the second half, with Fairbairn’s 47 yard field goal making the score 20–3. On the drive, Stroud completed an 18 yard pass to Stefon Diggs, and completions of 12 and 19 to Xavier Hutchinson. Hutchinson saw an increase in snaps due to a hamstring injury from Collins, which appeared to happen as he was running into the endzone on his long touchdown grab. Collins did not return to the game.

The Bills finally found offensive success, starting with a 19 yard run to the left by Ty Johnson. Allen drew a 15 yard unnecessary roughness penalty, and a 26 yard completion over the middle to Dalton Kincaid gave the Bills 1st and Goal. Cook found the end zone from five yards out to cut Houston’s lead to 10. O’Cyrus Torrence had a great block on the play, while Spencer Brown and Connor McGovern helped push Cook through the last line of defense into the endzone.

Coleman Blasts Off

Buffalo’s defense forced a three-and-out, giving the Bills new life. On 4th and 5 from midfield, the Bills elected to go for it. Allen completed a nine yard curl to Coleman, who turned upfield with plenty of room in front of him. Picking up blocks from Hollins and Dawson Knox, Coleman tip-toed down the sideline for a 49 yard touchdown.

A 17 yard completion to Diggs was negated by a holding penalty the next play, which saw the Texans punt again after failing to convert on 3rd and long. Allen ended the third quarter with a 19 yard run, putting Buffalo near midfield, down by three, with an entire quarter of football remaining.

Defense Keeps Bills Afloat

Back-to-back runs set up 3rd and 9 for the Bills, where Allen was unable to connect with Marquez Valdes-Scantling. The Texans began marching down the field, converting on a 3rd and 9 and 3rd and 7 in the process. A 13 yard run from Stroud put Houston at Buffalo’s 36 yard line. Stroud tried to find Diggs over the middle, but was lurked by Bernard for an interception.

Again, Allen couldn’t connect with MVS on 3rd down, resulting in another punt. On the play, Allen took a shot which resulted in his head slamming against the turf. He’d go to the blue medical tent but return shortly. More on that later.

Martin’s punt would have landed at the two yard line and most likely bounced into the endzone, but Woods decided to field it and immediately get tackled. Backed up deep in their own territory, rushes of seven and five from Ogunbowale gave Houston some breathing room. While standing in the pocket, Stroud was stripped by Dawuane Smoot, with the ball recovered by Dorian Williams at the 15 yard line.

With Allen still in the medical tent, Mitch Trubisky would take the first snap from the 15, a handoff to Cook for no gain. Allen rushed back onto the field, cleared to return to play. Allen couldn’t connect with Cook on a shot down the sideline, and had no one open on 3rd down, forcing another Bass field goal, good from 33 yards out.

Clock Chaos

On 3rd down from Buffalo’s 39, Stroud was flagged for intentional grounding, knocking them out of field goal range and forcing a punt. Buffalo was pinned back at their own three with 32 seconds left and no timeouts (Houston had three). Allen proceeded to throw deep shots to Coleman, Hollins, and Samuel, 0/3 on his attempts. Buffalo punted right back to Houston with 16 seconds left, and the team was able to gain another five yards before calling a timeout. With two seconds left, Fairbairn drilled a 59 yard walk-off field goal to win.

Afterthoughts

So many things to work through regarding this game, and not much of it is positive. The offensive line had another bad outing, with Allen constantly under pressure and several penalties stalling drives. The receiving core was clearly missing Khalil Shakir, but no one was able to step up in his absence. Consistently there was no one creating separation, and there were too many drops whenever someone did get a step on a defender. Allen is not without blame either. Despite the variables above working against him, he should’ve hit Kincaid on a deep touchdown but didn’t have enough power on it, hesitated to run at times despite having room, and could have thrown several interceptions that were luckily dropped.

The defense stepped up and held Houston to just three field goals after surrendering two touchdowns in the first quarter. DeWayne Carter looked great in the absence of Ed Oliver, Dorian Williams showed flashes, and the return of Bernard was a major boost to the defense. Martin had a good game punting, averaging 50.1 yards per punt, while Bass was 2/2 on field goals.

Finally, the coaching in the final seconds still baffles me. I don’t mind throwing the ball, but only enough to get the first down to end the half. The offense struggled to move the ball all game, they were not driving 50+ yards in 30 seconds with no timeouts for a game-winning field goal. Instead, they should’ve been looking for something short or intermediate to keep the clock running and move the chains. The other option is running the ball three times, forcing Houston to use all of their timeouts, and if you don’t get a first down, punt. If this was the case, Houston would’ve needed to get out of bounds on a play if they needed to get closer to Fairbairn’s range. Regardless, deep shots to Coleman and Hollins should have never even been considered, and it may have cost the Bills a win.

However, it should be remembered that the clock management at the end of the game was far from the only reason why Buffalo lost on Sunday, and they have plenty of issues to clean up. Thankfully, the AFC East title does not seem in jeopardy, with the Jets drastically underperforming, Dolphins battling major injuries, and Patriots suffering from a severe lack of talent.

What’s Next? Bills @ Jets 10/14 MNF

The Bills travel to MetLife Stadium to face a struggling 2–3 Jets team, hoping to stay on the right side of .500 with a division win.

Editor’s babble: We’re grateful for Colin Richey’s contributions to our blog. You can also find Colin on Xwitter @whatthef00tball.