Saturday’s Wild Card loss in Houston is the type of loss that might be felt for years to come and might play a significant role in determining where this Buffalo Bills’ franchise goes from here in the near future.
While the future is bright for the Bills and there was plenty to be ecstatic about from a 10-6 season, a painful playoff loss could have an impact on what happens to the Bills going forward. It certainly stings now, but it also raises questions about many aspects of this Buffalo team heading into 2020, especially on the offensive side of the ball.
The Bills appeared to be on their way to a comfortable victory through two and a half quarters on Saturday, seemingly in control with a 16-0 lead. But the Bills allowed Houston to hang around just long enough to storm back. Led by an outstanding performance from quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Texans exploded for 19 consecutive points while the Bills managed just 38 total yards during a 16:25 span of the third and fourth quarters.
It appeared the Bills were done after a disastrous end to a drive into Houston territory with under two minutes to play. The Bills somehow turned a first-and-10 at the Houston 25 into a fourth-and-27 at the Houston 42. Allen was then sacked for a big loss to give the Texans the ball with a chance to run out the clock with 1:35 to play. However, the Bills were given a second chance when the Texans decided to go for the first down on 4th and 1 from the Buffalo 30. Watson’s QB sneak was stopped, and the Bills had the ball back for one last chance with 1:16 to play.
Again the Bills drove into Houston territory and this time got the tying points with five seconds left as Stephen Hauschka converted his fourth field goal of the day, this one from 47 yards.
In just the second playoff overtime game in Bills’ history, Sean McDermott’s squad had a chance to win the game after forcing a Houston punt on the first drive. The Bills were knocking on the door as consecutive third-and-long conversions to Dawson Knox and Devin Singletary moved the ball into Houston territory.
But once again, the Bills self-destructed as a personal foul penalty on Cody Ford moved the Bills back to their own 43. Allen then threw incomplete to Duke Williams on Buffalo’s final offensive play of the season. After punting, the stage was set for the play of the game, a play that will be talked about for years to come.
On second-and-6 from the Buffalo 44, Watson appeared to be sacked as Siran Neal and Matt Milano converged on him back in Houston territory. But, in what could only possibly be real in a video game, Watson somehow escaped from Neal and Milano as they bounced off each other after sandwiching him. The former Clemson star somehow stayed on his feet, scrambled to his right, and completed a short pass to former Bill Taiwan Jones, who broke free himself for a 34-yard gain.
That set up Ka’imi Fairbairn’s game-winning field goal from 28 yards away to end Buffalo’s season.
There will be a lot to dissect from this crushing loss, but the biggest talking point will be how the Bills let a 16-0 lead get away from them and, specifically, how the offense failed them in a game where one more score would have sent the Bills to the divisional round.
The Bills enter the 2020 offseason still seeking their first playoff victory since 1995. They have a lot to work on and, fortunately, $90 million in cap space to work with to patch up the holes that were fatal in 2019. There are still plenty of questions to answer about the duo of McDermott and Josh Allen, but they both gave us plenty to be optimistic about going forward.
Here are four things we learned from a season-ending loss that won’t soon be forgotten Saturday in the Lone Star State: