Bills Central

Bills' embarrassing mistake on final play makes tough loss vs. Texans look even worse

The Buffalo Bills' coaching staff will certainly want the final moments of their Week 5 loss to the Houston Texans back.

Kyle Silagyi

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If you’re a frustrated member of the Buffalo faithful who is displeased with the performance of the Bills’ coaching staff in the dying moments of the team’s Week 5 loss to the Houston Texans, you may want to cover your eyes.

The end-of-game clock management was bad enough; the team received the ball backed up against its own endzone with zero time-outs and just over 30 ticks remaining in the contest. Rather than lean on the ground game (which had been working to that point) and play for overtime, Buffalo threw three consecutive incomplete passes, punting the ball back to Houston after eating just 16 seconds off the clock. The Bills then played incredibly relaxed defense to allow the already-at-midfield Texans to pick up a few extra yards, setting the stage for Ka’imi Fairbairn to nail a 59-yard field goal as time expired to secure the 23-20 win for Houston.

It was a generally lackluster game that, though boasting a few signs of life late, ended in disastrous fashion. And the cherry on top of the manure sundae? Buffalo essentially tied one hand behind its own back on the Texans’ final offensive play.

Related: 5 takeaways from Bills' disheartening 23-20 loss to Texans

On an absolutely crucial down, a play in which preventing Houston from gaining any ground was paramount to survival, the defense started lining up with only 10 players. The miscommunication was ultimately realized, and linebacker Dorian Williams came running onto the field late; the ball was snapped before he could truly get set or even understand what the defensive play-call was, something that allowed Stroud to find Dare Ogunbowale for a five-yard gain and better position Fairbairn for the game-winning score.

Cornerback Rasul Douglas talked about the mishap after the game, noting the difficult situation Williams was thrust into.

“I think we only had 10 people on the field, and then nobody was on the back,” Douglas said, per WROC-TV’s Thad Brown. “I think we only had 10, I think Dorian [Williams]  was running on as the play was going. I don’t even know if he even knew what we were in. Then they take two yards, that’s all they were looking for was two yards, and they got two yards.”

McDermott, per Brown, credited the gaffe to a miscommunication, as the team was trying to go into nickel defense, but the explanation doesn’t make it any easier to stomach. This miscommunication came after a disaster-class in clock management and on a play in which preventing any forward progress was an absolute necessity; Houston shouldn’t have even been in position to kick a game-winning field goal, and Buffalo allowed it to place itself in a more advantageous position by essentially tying one hand behind its own back.

It’s, for lack of a better term, embarrassing, and it’s one of several moments Buffalo’s coaching staff and players will want back after this loss. The team will look to rebound next week in a Monday Night Football clash with the New York Jets.

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Kyle Silagyi
KYLE SILAGYI

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