The Bills Blog

The Buffalo Bills have lost to the Houston Texans 19-23. It’s another frustrating loss for Bills fans as this team continues to struggle to find their identity and play consistent football on a weekly basis.

The Bills were dominated offensively as the Texans D had their way with both the O-line and Josh Allen. The Texans recorded 8 sacks on Thursday which is the most sacks Josh Allen has ever taken in a game in his career.

The Bills started this one by picking up where they left off against Tampa Bay. After forcing a 3 and out, the Bills moved carefully downfield, converting on 3rd downs and a critical 4th and short before James Cook broke free for a 45 yard TD. The TD was spoiled however, when Matt Prater missed what proved to be a costly extra point.

On the Texan’s ensuing drive, The Bills Defense bent but didn’t break. Despite allowing multiple chunk plays on the Texans 10 play drive, they stood tall and held Houston to just the field goal.

From there, the Texans defense really started to give the Bills fits as they got Allen on the ground all night long. There were multiple moments throughout the game and one in the first quarter specifically where it looked like Allen may have gotten seriously injured. It was a testament to the physicality, relentless effort and tenacity that DeMeco Ryan’s defensive unit played with till the last whistle. And a sign that the Bills are nowhere close to where they need to be offensively.

The Bills special teams unit bailed out their offense in the first half as Ray Davis took a kickoff to the house which re gave Buffalo the lead before the defense squandered it on a 6 play 75 yard TD drive.

The Texans offense was cooking in the first half as they strung together 2 backbreaking second quarter drives that resulted in TDs and a 20-16 lead heading into the half. The Bills defense once again looked lost in coverage. The D-line was seemingly non existent against one of the worst O-line units in the league and, their weak zone scheme was picked apart by Davis Mills who still missed multiple easy completions on his way to a 20 point first half.

The second half only got worse for Buffalo offensively. They struggled to get ANYTHING going. Josh was pressured on seemingly every drop back and sacked on seemingly every big down. Both LT Dion Dawkins and RT Spencer Brown were abused in this one and were no help in getting Allen the time he needed in the pocket.

Not all of the blame falls on the Bills offensive line though as Josh looked hesitant to take running lanes and potential chunk yardage with his legs. Instead, he did what he could to avoid pressure while making tough throws to receivers with no separation (the same old story) resulting in incompletions or turnovers.

It was an ugly, heartbreaking game where the Bills were somehow in it all night. The Bills defense made adjustments and held the Texans to only 3 points in the second half while the Bills offense continued to sputter in crunch time. The Bills even had a chance to go win the game on their final drive as they converted a miraculous 4th and 27 play and drove down field with momentum. The Bills blundered once again as a false start on 4th and 1 at the Texans 17 yard line set them up for a poor 4th and 6th play that resulted in a Josh Allen interception that sealed the game.

The Bills finished this one with 2 interceptions, a fumble and a turnover on downs. Once again, losing the turnover battle and as a result, losing the game. In 2025, it seems the Bills are allergic to playing complimentary football. It’s the backbone of their recipe for success and they can’t seem to figure it out. Anytime the Offense looks to be in rhythm, the defense cant seem to get a stop and vice versa. When Josh is turning the ball over and the offense cant get anything going, the Defense finds ways to get stops. The Bills just can’t seem to have all three phases compliment each other and as a result it’s likely going to cost them the division and home field advantage in the playoffs.

The Bills will look to get back on track on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers in week 13.