You can criticize Bills coach Sean McDermott for his decisions about the clock during the last 32 seconds of Buffalo’s loss to the Houston Texans.
Many have questioned why he let Josh Allen throw three straight passes—none of which were completed—when they could have run the ball to use up the Texans’ three timeouts. This decision was especially crucial in the 23-20 game that ended with Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 59-yard field goal as time ran out on Sunday.
McDermott took responsibility for the outcome, saying the Bills should have at least tried to run on the first down—“And that’s on me,” he acknowledged.
More concerning, and not entirely unexpected, is how poorly Allen performed. He completed just 9 of 30 passes for 131 yards and one touchdown. His 30% completion rate was the lowest in his career, and his total yardage was the fifth lowest in games he started and finished.
This wasn’t just a one-time issue for Allen. He had 180 passing yards in a 35-10 loss to Baltimore the week before, and his 42 passing yards in the first half of that game were among the second-lowest totals in his career.
The drop in his performance is what many feared after the Bills lost their second receiver, Gabe Davis, to free agency and then traded their top receiver, Stefon Diggs, to Houston to create more salary cap space.
In the short term, general manager Brandon Beane put together a mix of experienced receivers to support third-year player Khalil Shakir. He also planned for the future by selecting Keon Coleman with the 33rd pick after trading back in the draft and passing on speedy players like Xavier Worthy (Kansas City), Ricky Pearsall (San Francisco), and Xavier Legette (Carolina).
Even though Buffalo started the season strong with three wins, showing off their offensive motto of “everybody eats,” their passing game has taken a downturn after two losses.
This was particularly evident on Sunday when Shakir—Allen’s most dependable target—couldn’t play due to an ankle injury.
The other wide receivers for Buffalo only managed four catches from 18 attempts, with Coleman getting a touchdown on a 49-yard catch. In that play, he caught the ball near the line of scrimmage, avoided a tackle, and ran down the left sideline.
The Bills’ receivers are struggling to create space. They’ve also dropped passes, including one that bounced off Coleman’s helmet because he wasn’t paying attention, and he was called for offensive pass interference while trying to prevent an interception.
Allen took responsibility for the situation. “It starts with me making better decisions,” he said.
He then anticipated the media’s criticism of his receivers, saying, “I know you guys (reporters) are going to be wild this week, but love my guys, and we’re going to keep working. And this isn’t a defining moment in our season.”
There is still plenty of time left in the season for the four-time defending AFC East champions, who still lead a competitive division.
However, it seems unlikely that new players will join the team soon, especially since fans are urging general manager Beane to trade for Davante Adams from Las Vegas.
While that move might sound appealing, it’s hard to see Beane pursuing Adams. At almost 32 years old, he is older than Diggs and has two years left on his contract. If he were released after this season, he would still count around $15.7 million against Buffalo’s salary cap.
