HOUSTON — Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott accepted the blame for the game management issues that allowed the Houston Texans to secure a winning 59-yard field goal in Sunday’s 23-20 defeat.
“That’s on me, the end-of-game situation on offense,” McDermott stated. “We’re in a tough situation… they were holding three timeouts; they have a good field goal kicker. We needed to run the clock and move the chains, and that’s on me. We didn’t accomplish that, and that’s my fault.”
With the score tied at 20-20, the Bills halted the Texans’ drive, forcing a punt with 41 seconds left after quarterback C.J. Stroud was penalized for intentional grounding. McDermott opted to decline a potential 10-second runoff that might have been triggered by the penalty, although he mentioned that the decision was deliberated.
After reclaiming possession at their own 3-yard line with 32 seconds remaining, the Bills’ offense failed to convert on three consecutive incomplete passes thrown by Josh Allen. According to ESPN Research, they are the only team in the last 45 years to be tied or leading with less than a minute left in the game, starting from inside their own 5-yard line, and result in three straight incomplete passes.
“I trust Josh with the ball in his hands — you know I do,” McDermott commented. “An efficient offense was the right approach there and… I didn’t have us do that. So again, we learned from that. It was a tough situation.”
Allen’s initial attempt to rookie Keon Coleman was incomplete, with Coleman penalized for offensive pass interference, although the penalty was declined. With 27 seconds left, Allen threw deep to Mack Hollins, but the pass fell short. On third down, Allen aimed for Curtis Samuel, who slipped before the ball arrived, leading to another incomplete pass.
“Overall, that’s on me,” McDermott responded when asked about the play calls. “We just need to do a better job, I need to do a better job in that situation.”
Allen, along with offensive linemen Connor McGovern and David Edwards, supported the decision to be “aggressive” in that moment.
“Coach trusts us to make those plays,” Allen said. “Of course, I would love to convert there, and hindsight is 20-20, but yeah.”
After a 13-yard punt return brought the Texans to their 41-yard line, they ran one play for 5 yards, setting up a game-winning 59-yard field goal. Bills linebacker Dorian Williams entered the field just 12 seconds before the snap, and cornerback Rasul Douglas noted that Williams seemed unaware of the play call.
“We were trying to go nickel defense, and Dorian was on the sideline,” McDermott explained. “We lacked the necessary communication, and because of that, he was late getting onto the field with the call.”
The Texans clinched the win with Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 59-yard field goal as time expired.
The Bills struggled offensively, with their receivers managing to catch only 4 of 18 targets, marking the team’s worst reception percentage since 2009 and the lowest for any team’s wide receivers with a minimum of 15 targets since 2016.
On the day, Allen completed 9 of 30 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown. The Bills missed their leading receiver Khalil Shakir due to an ankle injury. Allen recorded the lowest completion percentage for a game with at least 30 attempts in the last 30 seasons, acknowledging the need for improvement, particularly regarding ball placement and open routes. Coleman attributed the failures to internal issues rather than the Texans’ defense.
“I would never criticize Josh,” Edwards remarked. “He is the heartbeat of our offense and our team. We go as he goes. This game is not on Josh.”