Buffalo Bills ripped for ‘dumbest’ loss of the season after coach Sean McDermott makes baffling late call against Houston Texans
The Buffalo Bills have been criticized by many in the NFL community for the way they handled the late game play call that allowed the Houston Texans to earn a 23-20 win.
The Bills began their final possession of the game with 44 seconds left in regulation, tied with the Texans. Houston had not used a timeout in the second half.
Buffalo coach Sean McDermott called three pass plays, all of which were incomplete and stopped the clock whenever the ball hit the turf. After the Bills punted the ball back to the Texans, Houston began its final drive of the game from the Buffalo 46-yard line with seven seconds left.
A 5-yard completion by CJ Stroud and a quick timeout gave Ka’imi Fairbairn a kick to win the game from the middle of the field from 59 yards out.
Fairbarn drilled it and many were stunned at the way the Bills let this game slip away.
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott called three passing plays on the Bills’ final possession
The play calling gave the Texans enough time to make a game-winning field goal
“There will be worse losses in the #NFL this year than the ones the #Bills just suffered. But maybe there isn’t a dumber one,” ESPN’s Mike Greenberg said on social media.
“Buffalo’s decision to throw it three times in a row on their own four-yard line and not let Houston burn any of its three TOs is something McDermott will want back,” former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel said.
“Baffling game management decisions by the Bills at the end of that game…” said future NFL Hall of Famer JJ Watt.
A collection of social media posts from the NFL community at the end of the Bills game
Houston improved to 4-1 with the win, while the Bills fell to 3-2 in a game that could prove important for playoff positioning later in the season.
If the Bills had called three run plays, the Texans likely would have called all three timeouts and been without one for their final possession, if they had even had one before overtime.
That game management, or lack thereof, is the lasting impression of Buffalo’s journey to Houston.