Most NFL fans knew the Houston Texans have a strong defense. But most didn’t realize exactly how strong. In fact, even the Buffalo Bills did not seem prepared for what they experienced in Houston on Thursday Night Football. The Texans terrorized Josh Allen. The reigning MVP was sacked eight times. He was hit 12 times. And he was hurried on almost every single drop back.
Given Houston’s dominant performance in prime time, it’s something of a miracle that the Bills were still in the game late. It felt like Buffalo should have been down by 40. But that was not the case. The Bills only trailed by four points when they got the ball back at their own 18-yard line with 2:48 to play and all three timeouts remaining.
That’s more than enough time for Allen to go win the game. The Bills put together a 13-play, 60-yard drive that ate up all but 18 seconds of the final 2:48. They even converted a 4th & 27, picking up 44 yards on a wild, designed hook and lateral play.
But it was all for naught. After advancing to the Texans’ 26-yard line on the improbable first down conversion, the Bills went: Incompletion, Ty Johnson run, incompletion, false start, interception. The Texans survived the comeback attempt, winning 23-19 and Buffalo fell to 7-4 on the season.
The Thursday night flop triggered a Blame Game column. And while it’s tempting to shrug the loss off as inevitable with Houston turning in the best team defensive effort since the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX, there’s plenty of blame to go around for Buffalo.
Brandon Beane
Before getting started on Week 12-specific blame, let's quickly point a finger at Brandon Beane.
The Bills’ GM didn’t earn a Most to Blame tag for the loss to the Texans but he deserves a brief mention here. While Beane’s mistake impacts the team week-in and week-out, it was particularly glaring in Thursday’s narrow defeat.
With tight end Dalton Kincaid sidelined by a hamstring injury for the second straight game, Allen was forced to create a makeshift receiver corps from the collection of discount pass catchers Beane assembled for this ostensible championship contender.
Last week Tyrell Shavers produced a 4/90/1 line on five looks. This week Elijah Moore, Jackson Hawes and Joshua Palmer combined for nine targets. It begs the question, why can’t Josh Allen have a wide receiver? Yes, he won league MVP without a true WR1 (or WR2) last season. But does he have to play without one?
It’s become clear that Keon Coleman isn’t the guy. The 2024 second-round pick was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. The Bills have responded by wrapping themselves in a warm Gabe Davis nostalgia blanket. But Beane has got to do better.
Of course the QB’s new mega contract limits what the team can spend elsewhere. But why are the Bills cutting corners on wideouts? Sure Allen can do some incredible things without an alpha receiver. But it’s going to be next to impossible to win a championship with this group of pass catchers.
Offensive line
The inadequacy at receiver was particularly noticeable on Thursday due to Kincaid’s absence and the Texans’ defense. Absolutely no one could get open before Buffalo’s line collapsed and Allen was buried in the turf.
The Bills actually have a strong offensive line, anchored by veteran tackles Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown. But the line was outmatched and overpowered by a relentless Houston pass rush.
The Texans got to the quarterback early and often, sacking Allen eight times for 70 yards. Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter dominated, combining for 4.5 sacks and wrecking the Bills’ game plan.
Buffalo had a modicum of success late when the team gave up on waiting for receivers to run routes. Allen just fired the ball to the nearest pair of hands after a three-step dropback. Anything that required time to develop down field was scrapped as the Texans applied constant pressure.
Making matters worse, Bills RT Spencer Brown was lost to an injury. While Buffalo thankfully doesn’t have to play Houston again next week, T.J. Watt and the Pittsburgh Steelers await. It’s imperative that the offensive line rebounds and keeps the quarterback clean. The Bills have essentially no chance to win otherwise.
Josh Allen
Thursday night’s loss isn’t on Allen. But when you sign a $330 million contract, you’re expected to shoulder some of the blame.
After producing six touchdowns in Week 11, the Texans held Allen out of the end zone on Thursday. He went 24/34 for 253 scoreless yards and two picks. And of course he was repeatedly assaulted by Houston's defensive line.
The Bills receivers weren’t creating separation and the offensive line did him no favors but Allen looked overwhelmed against Houston. Fans can simply chalk that up to playing a tremendous defense. But there were several instances where Allen thought he had the speed to double back into the middle of the field to shake a defender. He was run down and sacked each time.
Again, this isn’t necessarily cause for alarm. The Texans are being compared to the Legion of Boom from 2013. So it’s safe to say Thursday night was an outlier game.
The interceptions, however, are perhaps a different story. Allen tossed two more picks against Houston. He’s already up to nine on the season after throwing just six in 2024. Allen now has five interceptions in his last three games.
Matt Prater / Sean McDermott
It felt too cruel to give Matt Prater his own section in the Blame List. So he’s going to share with head coach Sean McDermott and offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
The veteran kicker set an inauspicious tone early in Thursday night’s game when he missed the extra point after James Cook’s 45-yard touchdown run. That point would come back to haunt the Bills. Because of course it would.
Had Prater hit the PAT (and everything after that played out exactly the same way, which is apparently a logical fallacy) Buffalo would only have been trailing by three points late in the fourth quarter. McDermott would have sent the 41-year-old place kicker out to attempt a game-tying 34-yard field goal.
In reality, Prater missed and Buffalo was down four points. A field goal wasn’t an option so McDermott went for it. The Bills’ line couldn’t hold, the receivers couldn’t get open and Allen threw the game-clinching interception.
Now, Prater made both of his field goal tries and one of two extra points. But the early miss seemed to linger with McDermott. The Bills opted to go for it on fourth down multiple times in the game. They passed up on a long field goal attempt in the second quarter. And then they did it again in the fourth.
Joe Brady
With a little over 10 minutes remaining, the Bills decided not to try a 40-yard field goal. Instead they went for it on 4th & 1. But rather than putting the ball in Allen’s hands, Brady chose to run into the teeth of the Texans’ defense. Cook was stuffed and Buffalo turned it over on downs.
After the failed fourth-down conversion the Bills ran 20 more plays on two additional drives. But Brady only called one running play for Cook. Considering the Texans were teeing off on Allen every other drop back, a little variation might have helped. And, as he proved earlier in the game, Cook is always a threat to score with the ball in his hands.
