The Buffalo Bills offense has disappeared for two consecutive weeks. In Week 5, the Bills lost their second straight game on the road against the Houston Texans 23-20. They did so after some questionable decisions by the coaching staff and quarterback Josh Allen in the fourth quarter.
The Bills stormed back from a 17-point deficit in the third quarter but ultimately came up short as Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn knocked a 59-yard field goal through the uprights as time expired in the fourth quarter.
Buffalo had the ball deep in their territory with 32 seconds left on the clock, with the game tied at 20 apiece. All signs pointed toward overtime, but the Texans had other plans.
How did the Bills lose to the Texans?
With the game tied 20-20 and 40 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Texans punted from the 49-yard line to the Bills. Tommy Townsend delivered a terrific punt for Houston, and the ball was downed at the Bills 3-yard line.
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Josh Allen and the Bills offense took the field with 32 seconds remaining. Buffalo would drop back to pass on first down. Allen heaved a deep ball down the left sideline that was incomplete to rookie Keon Coleman.
At this point, Houston had all three timeouts. Opting to run would have forced the Texans to burn all of them before getting the ball back.
The Bills would throw again on second down. Allen attempted to complete another deep ball down the seam to Mack Hollins which would fall incomplete. At that point, 21 seconds remained, and all signs pointed toward the Bills running the ball to have the clock run down. Instead, Allen dropped back to throw on third down, and another incompletion ensued.
Buffalo was forced to punt on fourth down. Sam Martin had to launch his kick with his heels on the back of the end zone. His punt would be returned into Bills territory on the 46-yard line. With 16 seconds remaining and three timeouts, CJ Stroud completed a short pass to get the Texans to the Bills 41. Fairbairn nailed a 59-yard field goal for the win.
Head coach Sean McDermott’s decision to throw on all three downs before the punt is under question.
The Bills botched the opportunity to run the clock out at the end of regulation and play for the win in overtime. Houston played the second half without their star wide receiver, Nico Collins, who left the game with an injury. The Texan’s offense struggled after he exited, and the Bills had all of the momentum.
Josh Allen had one of his worst performances as a passer in recent memory against Houston. He completed just 9 of 30 attempts for 131 yards and one touchdown. Stefon Diggs, Allen’s former No. 1 receiver, was on the opposite sideline in a Texans uniform as the Bills QB struggled to connect with his current group of pass catchers. In Week 4, the Ravens shut down Allen and the Bills offense. There are plenty of questions to be answered heading into Week 6.