It is the same result for the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, just like last week. Rather than leaving Houston with a 4-1 record, the Bills are now 3-2 having lost back-to-back games to playoff contending teams. While their 35-10 loss against the Baltimore Ravens was a complete beatdown, the Bills showed signs of life in the second half against the Texans.
The Bills came back, being down 20-3 and could have had the chance to force overtime or try to get a pass interference call on the Texans to get into field goal range at the end of the game. Instead, Sean McDermott opted to call the most questionable play call that ultimately cost the Bills this Week 5 matchup.
While at one point it looked like the Texans were on their way to letting the clock run all the way down to kick the game-winning field goal, they made a questionable call on a third down play in field goal range to throw it. However, that throw by C.J. Stroud turned into intentional grounding which caused the Texans to lose a down and lose ten yards which pushed them out of field goal range.
Houston got the bounce of their life to pin the Bills inside their own 5-yard line. Buffalo had over 30 seconds to make a drive to get the Bills down the field. You would think that they would run the ball to make the Texans waste their timeouts (all three of them). Instead, the Bills opted to throw three pass plays all of which fell incomplete to give the Texans plenty of time to still win this game.
Bills’ punter Sam Martin came out onto the field, and instead of the ball being punted out of bounds, it landed in the area of play and it help the Texans get into field goal range which ultimately led the Texans to a 4-1 record.
Sean McDermott costs Buffalo Bills their Week 5 matchup
The Bills have shown that they can play great situational football, but that was not the case against Houston. Even if the Bills didn’t convert a first down but managed to get Houston to waste all of their timeouts, it more than likely would have taken more time off the clock and this game could have gone to overtime.
Instead, Bills Mafia now endures a second consecutive loss and the Bills will be hitting the road again next week for a Monday night showdown against the New York Jets, a team that they have struggled against in recent memory.