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

Here are five takeaways from the Buffalo Bills' ugly Week 5 loss to the Houston Texans.

Ronnie Eastham | Oct 6, 2024

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The Buffalo Bills suffered another loss in their hotly anticipated Week 5 clash with the Houston Texans and are again left searching for answers after what is now their second consecutive defeat. Fortunately, the rest of the AFC East isn't very good, so the Bills still have an opportunity to earn another division crown. That's getting a bit ahead of ourselves, however, especially considering their most recent loss in which many crucial questions and concerns were uncovered. With that, here are five takeaways from Buffalo's 23-20 loss.

First half rivaled last week's performance, or lack thereof

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The Bills couldn't do anything right in the first half, giving way to a 17-3 halftime deficit. The defense couldn't get to C.J. Stroud and generally couldn't stop the Texans passing attack, including a 78-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins. Rookie safety Cole Bishop struggled early and was caught out of position on some plays. Buffalo was lucky to be down only 14 at halftime, as that fact ultimately allowed it to attempt a comeback in the latter two frames.

Khalil Shakir is vital to the Bills offense

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The Bills' offense struggled mightily against the Texans' defense. Allen couldn't complete a pass early in the game, Kincaid was non-existent, and Samuel simply doesn't exist in this offense outside of cute plays that fool no defenses. Keon Coleman made a big play, an impressive third-quarter touchdown, but with only one catch, they need more from him. Shakir has become the go-to receiver and chain-mover, and his absence due to an ankle injury was gravely felt in this contest. Buffalo needs to get him back in the fold as quickly as possible. Also, general manager Brandon Beane has to seriously look at trade options to get another receiver at One Bills Drive.

Welcome back Terrel Bernard

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Terrel Bernard single-handedly got the Bills back in this game to give them a shot in the end. His second-quarter fourth down stop was huge, then he later followed that up with a massive interception in the fourth quarter. Bernard finished the game with five tackles, the pick, and a pass deflection. It's great to see Bernard back on the field following his pectoral strain, and hopefully, the Bills can start getting some of their other injured players back soon.

Defense rebounds for stellar second half

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The defense didn't have many answers in the first half; however, aided by the loss of Texans' receiver Nco Collins, the defense showed up in the second half. They held Houston to just six points and forced two turnovers in the second half, but it was three points too many. Buffalo sorely needs Taron Johnson back, but the players and coaches did a phenomenal job with halftime adjustments and helped get Buffalo back in the game.

Bills lose on incredibly dumb decision at close of game

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Regardless of your opinions on Sean McDermott, it's difficult to defend the team's decision to throw three consecutive passes downfield at the end of the game. Backed up inside the five-yard line with less than a minute remaining in a tied game, it seems foolish to repeatedly launch bombs. At the very least try a screen pass (even though the Bills have never been very good in the screen game) or just run the ball. The Texans were allowing 4.7 yards per rush coming into this game and allowed 5.4 yards per carry Sunday; the run game was working throughout the contest, and it was absurd to divert from the ground game when running the ball was so obviously the most auspicious strategy.

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