Bills Central

Bills thwart their own comeback effort in ugly 23-20 loss to Texans

A strong comeback effort falls short, and the Buffalo Bills lose their second game in a row, this time to the Houston Texans.

David Faux

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An inspiring comeback effort fell just short as the Buffalo Bills fell to the Houston Texans in their Week 5 clash, 23-20. The Bills found themselves in a hole to start the game for the second week in a row, and while they did a much better job of climbing out of it this week than last, the result was the same. It was a frustrating day marked by various poor performances and decisions, and Buffalo is 3-2 on the year as a result.

Below we’ll explore the most inspired performance of the game, a position group with a lot of questions, a unit that requires a better performance moving forward, and the most irksome part of the game.

Inspire - Defense:

Dorian Williams
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Oh, it wasn’t pretty in the first half. It got a little dicey in the second half. But make no mistake, the Bills' defense absolutely kept them in this game when they should have laid over. Not only did they get stops on third down, they managed to force two massive C.J. Stroud turnovers, which is uncharacteristic of the signal-caller. Terrel Bernard snagged an interception in coverage, and Dawuane Smoot stripped Stroud later in the fourth quarter as Dorian Williams recovered. It seems that the Bills, under McDermott and his respective defensive coordinators, struggle early on in games, but do a remarkable job adjusting and finding answers to what offenses are throwing at them. An injury to Nico Collins certainly helped, but the Texans are certainly not devoid of playmakers, and the fact is that the Bills managed to put the clamps on Houston in the second half and show that, despite the injuries they’ve sustained, they’re still a well-coached unit that can limit what offenses want to do.

Related: Studs and duds from Bills' discouraging 23-20 to Texans

Inquire - Upgrade the WR corps before the trade deadline? 

Mack Hollins
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The Bills’ wide receiver unit is a problem, and not in the fun way where we get to say “The Bills' receiving corps is a PROBLEM for the rest of the league." Curtis Samuel was an exciting offseason addition who has yet to contribute anything of significance. For every highlight, high-energy play Keon Coleman has, he seems to also have at least one or two major rookie mistakes, either with a drop or simply not knowing what’s going on during the play. Marquez Valdes-Scantling is a complete non-factor. Mack Hollins is fine as a depth player, but his value is much greater as a blocker and on special teams than as a key part of a passing attack. 

The question, thus, must be asked: should the Bills look to add a receiver at the trade deadline? Sure. Does that mean anyone is going to be good to add for the asking price? Odds are, probably not. Davante Adams is the name that will get thrown around, but given that Adams seems to have some personality issues that aren’t exactly conducive to a healthy culture, is it really worth surrendering what is likely to be a second-round pick and/or a player for that? Outside of him, it’s tough to say who would even be available and what kind of impact that would have on the Buffalo offense.

Require - The Offense:

Dalton Kincaid
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For the second week in a row, the Bills’ offense looked lifeless, lost, and discombobulated in the first half. In the second half, they managed to find life and make some plays to bring them back into position to win the game. The reality is that it should not take this long for your offense to come to life when you have Josh Allen at quarterback. Frankly, this wasn't exactly a masterclass from Allen, as he missed receivers and made poor decisions through most of the game. Yes, there are absolutely issues with the passing game that stem from the lack of receivers, but the fact is that the offense, as a whole, has little going for it outside of running the football with James Cook. That's a perfectly good thing to have, but one that’s easily defeated by simply bringing more numbers into the box, which teams feel comfortable doing because the Bills can’t beat teams consistently enough in the passing game to get them out of heavy box looks. If the Bills want their offense to be better, it falls solely on the passing game improving. 

Irk - End of game management:

Ka'imi Fairbairn
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The Bills got the ball back with a little more than 40 seconds left and no timeouts. After being down 17-3, they had tied the game at 20. They could choose to try to get in position for a last-second field goal in regulation or push it into overtime. Three incomplete passes later, and the Texans get the ball back near midfield with seven seconds left. The Bills choose, for some reason, to not try to challenge the Texans receivers and keep them outside of field goal range, but play their safeties well back to prevent… what, exactly? It was truly a series of unfortunate events, and unlike the Lemony Snicket novels of the same title, it was the result of the Bills’ own incompetence and poor decision-making. Is this on the relative youth of the Bills’ coordinators Joe Brady and Bobby Babich? Is it on the eighth-year head coach in McDermott for not having his players and coaches prepared for that situation? The reality is that it’s both. McDermott will shoulder most of the blame, and he should, but he trusts his coordinators to do their job, and today, no one did at the end of this game. 

Related: Bills end-game clock management ripped following loss to Texans

What's next for the Bills?

The Bills will be back on Monday Night Football next week to face the New York Jets. The Jets have not gotten themselves off to a good start this year, and their team is dealing with a lot of inner conflict and turmoil. A Bills win would create a lot of necessary separation between them and the rest of the AFC East, and provide some positive momentum moving forward. But the Jets are well aware of this and are going to do their best to keep both this division competitive and their season alive. 

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David Faux
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