Coach McDermott reflects on how late-game tie turned into Bills loss

HOUSTON, T.X. — Tied at 20 with 32 seconds left in the game, the Bills started a drive at their own three-yard line. Flash forward 25 in-game seconds later, the Texans had the ball and later kicked a game-winning field goal, but how?

“That’s on me,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. “We just got to do a better job. I got to do a better job in that situation.”

“When you talk about holding three timeouts where we were, they’ve got a really strong field goal kicker,” McDermott said. “We knew that there’s a potential, if the situation goes three straight runs, you’re running six seconds off potentially each time and you may be in a similar situation.. So either way, we got to do a better job. And that starts with me, 100%.”

Well, starting with how they got the ball back in the first place, the Bills got lucky. On the prior drive, the Texans had a 3rd & five from Buffalo’s 39-yard-line and Texans quarterback CJ Stroud had a miscommunication with his intended target, Dalton Schultz, and sailed the ball out of bounds leading to an intentional grounding penalty.

Houston was pushed out of field goal range, punted and the Bills took over. On the punt, however, Buffalo punt returner Brandon Codrington didn’t field the punt and instead let it bounce as the Texans downed it inside the five.

“You don’t know where that punt’s gonna land,” McDermott said. “The punt goes in the end zone where we’re at the 20 and we got a chance. Or do they, because of their kicker, hang on and run the clock down and try and do something in the last play? Situational football, that’s on me.”

The Texans had three timeouts, the Bills none and instead of trying to force Houston to take any by running the ball, Buffalo threw the ball. On first down, Josh Allen targeted Keon Coleman, who was called for an offensive pass interference, which was declined. On second down, Allen targeted Mack Hollins, the ball fell incomplete downfield. 

“I love Josh [Allen] with the ball in his hands,” McDermott said. “Efficient offense was the right approach there and I didn’t have us do that…You go back and forth, I probably should have run it on the first play and just said, ‘Hey, where are we now?’ Either way, we’re probably going to have to move the chains one time, right, to not give them a chance.”

Come third down, the Bills had gained zero yards and forced zero timeouts from the Texans so they threw it again, this time to Curtis Samuel, but once again, the ball hit the turf.

The drive lasted three plays before Sam Martin punted the ball 56 yards. A Robert Woods return gave the Texans a starting field position on Buffalo’s 46-yard line. Stroud found his running back, Dare Ogunbowale for a five-yard flip pass and the Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn hit the game-winning 59-yard field goal.

The Bills fall to 3-2 and will travel to Metlife Stadium to take on the 2-3 New York Jets next Monday.