Bills most to blame for Week 5 loss to Texans
The Buffalo Bills were shorthanded in Week 5 against CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans but still had a chance at the end of the game to leave with a win and a shiny 4-1 record. Instead, Sean McDermott, Joe Brady, Josh Allen and the entire offense collapsed in the game’s final moments, allowing Houston to set up a game-winning 59-yard field goal for Ka’imi Fairbairn to prevent the comeback.
On paper, losing by three to this iteration of the Texans without leading receiver Khalil Shakir and five starters on defense should be a moral victory, especially considering that the Bills trailed 20-3 early in the third quarter. Yet, the game was well within reach in the closing moments before being puzzlingly thrown away to somehow still end in a frustrating defeat.
While the team still put forth a valiant effort that will largely get overshadowed, the lack of execution was often glaringly evident with a few players more to blame than others.
Sean McDermott / Joe Brady
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When looking back at this loss, all people will remember is the Bills’ final drive of the game. The game was knotted at 20-20 with 40 seconds remaining when Texans’ punter Tommy Townsend was last on the field to give Buffalo one last shot in regulation. Perhaps if the punt sailed into the end zone the game would have ended differently but Townsend’s kick was expertly downed inside the five-yard line.
What happened next nearly broke NFL Red Zone host Scott Hanson. Instead of running out the clock to go into overtime, the Bills dialed up three straight deep pass plays that all fell incomplete, forcing them to punt from inside their own end zone with 15 seconds still on the clock. Two plays later, Fairbairn’s kick sent the Bills packing.
The thought process was clearly to hit a home run ball but was set up at the most inopportune time and directly caused the loss. It almost looked like something a player would do in Madden. Brady, the offensive coordinator, is responsible for the play calling but the responsibility must be placed on head coach McDermott, who had a look of confusion on his face during the infamous drive and rightfully accepted the fault after the game.
In the biggest moment of the game, nothing was organized and it seemed as if the Bills were completely unprepared for such a scenario.
Mack Hollins
With Shakir out, the Bills turned to veteran journeyman Mack Hollins as a fill-in starter. The expectations for Hollins could not have been very high but regardless, they were not met.
In a game that Allen threw for just 131 yards — more on that later — Hollins recorded just two catches for 27 yards. It was less about his numbers and more about what he left on the table. Allen missed Hollins on multiple deep shots that would have accounted for big plays, something that only comes with timing and repetitions. However, to the naked eye, Hollins appeared to be the player most at fault with poor route running and losing the ball in the air.
Hollins is a backup receiver for a reason and nobody expected him to mimic the production of Shakir. That being said, he was given many chances to make a big impact on this game and failed almost every time.
Josh Allen
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It is always difficult for a quarterback — even one as good as Allen — to play without his top target. Allen was forced to do that in Week 5 with Shakir sidelined but his play was still substandard. For someone who some consider to be the best signal caller in the league, completing nine of 30 passes is inexcusable regardless of personnel.
Allen played a bulk of the game hurt after hitting his head hard on the turf but even before then looked lost against the Texans’ defense. Eight of the Bills’ 12 drives in the game ended with a punt with Allen routinely unable to get on the same page with multiple receivers. Keon Coleman caught the only touchdown of Allen’s on the night, a 49-yard catch-and-run, and had it not been for that play, the Pro Bowler might have ended with under 100 passing yards.
Cole Bishop
It is almost unfair to place the responsibility of a loss on a rookie making his first career start but not a lot went well for Cole Bishop in his rude awakening at the professional level. On paper, Bishop had a fine stat line with four tackles but came up empty on numerous missed tackles and assignments.
Most notably, Bishop appeared to be the one at fault for Nico Collins’ 67-yard touchdown despite Rasul Douglas taking the blame after the game. The play looked to be zone coverage but for some reason, Bishop did not provide help over the top of Collins and instead got caught staring at Stroud, giving the NFL’s leading receiver an easy score.
Overall, Bishop is not really at fault and was put into this position with the Bills’s secondary struggling with health. He simply was not ready for this moment, something that was increasingly evident as the game progressed.
The post Bills most to blame for Week 5 loss to Texans appeared first on ClutchPoints.
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