Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott took responsibility for the game management that allowed the Houston Texans to secure a winning 59-yard field goal on Sunday.
“That’s on me, the end-of-game situation on offense,” McDermott stated after the 23-20 loss. “We were in a tough spot… They had three timeouts and a strong kicker. We needed to run the clock and move the chains, and I take the blame for not doing that.”
With the game tied at 20-20, the Bills forced a Texans punt with 41 seconds left after quarterback C.J. Stroud was penalized for intentional grounding. McDermott chose to decline a potential 10-second runoff from the penalty but acknowledged they considered it.
After receiving the ball back at their own 3-yard line with 32 seconds remaining, the Bills’ offense failed to connect on three straight incomplete passes from Josh Allen.
“I trust Josh with the ball in his hands,” McDermott said. “But we needed a more efficient offense, and I didn’t execute that. We learned from it. It was a tough situation.”
He reflected on his decision-making, saying, “I probably should have run it on the first play to gauge our situation. We needed to move the chains at least once to avoid giving them a chance.”
Allen’s initial pass to rookie Keon Coleman was incomplete, with Coleman flagged for offensive pass interference, although the Texans declined the penalty. On second down, Allen overthrew Mack Hollins, and on third down, Curtis Samuel slipped, missing a catchable pass.
“Overall, that’s on me,” McDermott said when asked about the play calls. “We need to do better, and I need to do better in those situations.”
Allen and offensive linemen Connor McGovern and David Edwards expressed their support for being “aggressive” in that moment.
“Coach trusts us to make those plays,” Allen said. “Hindsight is 20-20, but we wanted to convert.”
Following a 13-yard punt return that placed the Texans at their own 41-yard line, Houston gained 5 yards on the next play, setting up the field goal. Bills linebacker Dorian Williams arrived late to the field, and cornerback Rasul Douglas noted a lack of communication about the play call.
“We were trying to switch to nickel defense, and Dorian was late getting the call,” McDermott explained.
The Texans clinched the game with Fairbairn’s 59-yard field goal as time expired.
The Bills’ receivers struggled, catching only 4 of 18 targets— the worst reception percentage since 2009 and the lowest for any team’s wide receivers with at least 15 targets since 2016. Allen finished with 9 completions on 30 attempts for 131 yards and one touchdown to Coleman, missing leading receiver Khalil Shakir due to an ankle injury.
Allen acknowledged he needed to improve his performance, particularly his ball placement, while Coleman attributed the struggles to self-inflicted issues, including communication problems.
“I would never criticize Josh,” Edwards said. “He’s the heartbeat of our offense. We go as he goes. I could easily point to my mistakes on those third downs. This game isn’t on Josh.”
