The Buffalo Bills fell to the Houston Texans in Week 5 and this was one of those losses where simply losing wouldn't have been that bad but it was HOW the Bills lost that made this one a gut punch. The Bills had the ball in their own end zone with 32 seconds remaining on the clock and rather than trying to drain the clock and forcing the Texans to use their timeouts, the Bills threw on three straight plays.
Of course, all three plays went incomplete so the Bills hardly milked any of the clock. The Texans then got the ball back midfield, made one play, and were in field goal range. They used one timeout and kicked the game-winning field goal, infuriating Bills fans everywhere at the lack of clock management.
Following the game, Ryan O'Halloran of The Buffalo News posted on X that he spoke with one Bills veteran. When asked about the final offensive series that veteran said "I hope learn from it."
#Bills veteran on final offensive series of three passes and no rushes.
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) October 6, 2024
"I hope (the coaches) learn from it."
Bills veteran calls out the coaches following tough loss
When asked about the sequence during his press conference, head coach Sean McDermott gave a puzzling response. He acknowledged that the Texans had a good kicker and that the Bills needed to drain the clock and move the chains yet they didn't do that. He did take accountability for not getting the job done there but why not give a better answer than this? What was really going on during that final drive?
Quarterback Josh Allen also didn't provide much of an answer when asked about the final offensive series. He said that McDermott trusted the team to be aggressive. That's not really the moment to be aggressive.
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The Bills started the year 3-0 and looked like the team to beat in the NFL and now they've suffered two backbreaking losses in a row. Getting blown out by the Ravens was tough but at least the Bills were never in that game. This game, however, the Bills fought their way back from a 20-3 deficit and then just crapped the bed in the final minute due to not understanding clock management there.
This Bills veteran's message to the coaches is pretty telling of where the frustration level is with the team right now. Let's hope that the coaches do indeed learn from this moment and that the Bills don't suffer another meltdown again this season.