Buffalo Bills: 5 reasons why the team suffered a heartbreaker in Houston

The Buffalo Bills suffered another heartbreaker on Sunday, but this loss to the Houston Texans was one of the worst losses in a long time.

After a surprising upset victory last week at home against the Tennessee Titans, the Buffalo Bills traveled to Houston to take on Deshaun Watson and his high-powered Texans offense.

The Bills defense did a tremendous job of shutting them down, holding Watson and the Texans to one touchdown, two field goals, forcing three takeaways and allowing 216 total yards. Buffalo also held Houston to 3/14 on third downs and 1/4 in the red zone.

The Bills struggled offensively, and an injury to Josh Allen forced nerve-wracking Nathan Peterman to enter the game. Peterman once again blew it for the Bills as he threw an interception for a touchdown to Johnathan Joseph with 1:23 left in the game. Peterman had a chance to redeem himself on the ensuing series.

But, once again, Bills fans were reminded on Sunday that the NFL and Nathan Peterman just don’t mix. Here’s five reasons why the Bills blew it in Houston.

5. Penalties

Not usually something the Bills struggle with, but on Sunday it was as the Bills gave up 104 yards on 12 penalties.

The biggest penalty came with 2:00 left in the fourth quarter when Bills cornerback Phillip Gaines was called for a 41-yard defensive pass interference on Will Fuller. This ultimately led to the Texans evening the game and was the costliest penalty of the day.

4. Josh Allen’s injury

This one has to sting, literally, as Allen’s elbow was on the receiving end of Jadeveon Clowney’s helmet which forced him to exit the game. This, however, was the turning point in the game and surprisingly in a positive way, but also in a negative way.

Maybe it was a good thing Peterman came into the game, as Allen was terrible. He was 10 of 17 for 84 yards and added 20 yards on the ground.

Peterman silenced his haters for a moment as he threw a 16-yard strike to Zay Jones that gave the Bills the lead. But Peterman quickly came back down to reality as he threw back-to-back interceptions to seal the deal for the Texans, having Bills fans wishing Allen was out on the field instead of Peterman.

3. Special Teams

Coming into the game the Bills weren’t hurting in the special teams department, as it is simply just not as important as it used to be. However, this was not the case on Sunday. Rookie Ray-Ray McCloud started the game on a high note, fumbling two kickoffs and one leading to a DeAndre Hopkins touchdown.

The ludicrous special teams play continued as the Bills had a blocked punt that led to a Houston field goal.

This is frustrating to say the least, as when it came time to select the final roster in September, McDermott passed on players like Corey Coleman who can help the Bills offensively and took players like McCloud to help on special teams.

2. Kelvin Benjamin

Enough is enough with Kelvin Benjamin. It seems every week there is something new he is either complaining about or starting within the locker room. This simply isn’t the same guy that Cam Newton had during Benjamin’s time in Carolina.

In his rookie season, Benjamin caught 73 passes on 145 targets for 1,008 yards and nine touchdowns. The following season Benjamin put together another impressive season, hauling in 63 passes out of 118 targets, for 941 yards and seven touchdowns. It seems that version of Benjamin has quickly come and gone as so far through six games Benjamin has 10 catches for 146 yards and one touchdown.

It was a brief experiment for general manager Brandon Beane testing out the likes of his former colleague (Benjamin), but it’s now time to move on from Benjamin and explore other receiving options. It’s safe to say out of all 32 teams, Benjamin is easily the worst number one receiver.

1.Nathan Peterman

Just when it felt like Nathan Peterman came in and saved the day by throwing a 16-yard touchdown to wide receiver Zay Jones, it all came crashing back down to reality for Peterman and the Bills.

With 1:23 to go and the game tied at 13-13, Peterman threw an interception that was returned back by Texans cornerback Johnathan Joseph to take a 20-13 lead. If that wasn’t enough, on the ensuing possession Peterman threw another interception to seal the deal.

This absolutely has to be the bottom of the basement, the final nail in the coffin, the last straw when it comes to Peterman. When Peterman has been under center in the seven total games he’s appeared in, he’s thrown a staggering 10 interceptions.

Sean McDermott simply cannot afford to keep giving Peterman chances, and it’s fair to say that Peterman has had his fair share of those. It may now be time for McDermott and the coaching staff to consider moving on from the fifth-round draft pick. We have known for a while and were once again reminded on Sunday that the NFL and Peterman just don’t seem to mix.

This was a game that the Bills deserved to win as the defense played outstanding. Houston and its high-powered offense were held to one touchdown, two field goals and 216 total yards.

This was a game the Bills should’ve won, but didn’t.