For the first half of the Buffalo Bills Wild Card game against the Houston Texans, it looked as if the history books would add the first playoff victory of the millennium for the team.
Instead, a nightmare of a second-half ensued, and the Bills fell to the Texans 22-19 to officially concluded their 2019 season.
The game started impressively for Buffalo. The Bills scored on the opening drive of the game. Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll started with a smart arsenal of plays to get the offense rolling along. Wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie moved in motion on the initial plays of the drive. Ultimately, this design worked well, as the culminating play represented something similar to the Philly Special. In this case, John Brown took the pitch and found a wide-open quarterback in Josh Allen on the sideline to put the Bills up by a touchdown. Buffalo added two Stephen Hauschka field goals in the second quarter as well.
More impressively, the defense was in Deshaun Watson’s face. Trent Murphy and Jerry Hughes registered two sacks each in the first half. The Texans only gained 81 yards in the half. Watson was 6-of-8 passing for only 39 yards in the air. All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins was held without a catch for the first half.
Buffalo’s defense continued their dominance into the second half. Both teams traded punts on their initial possessions of the half. Then, All-Pro cornerback Tre’Davious White forced a Hopkins fumble. The Bills added another field goal to give the team a 16-point lead.
Then, all hell broke loose for Buffalo. Settling for field goals caught up to the Bills, as the offense was largely stagnant for the remainder of the half.
Meanwhile, the Texans offense found their mojo, putting pressure on the Bills by having Watson rush more often and move the pocket. This, in conjunction with the Bills’ lack of meaningful offensive possession, puts pressure on the defense. Houston took advantage of their opportunities.
For the remainder of the half, Watson completed all eight of his passes for 111 yards, bring the team to a 19-16 lead over the Bills.
Watson scored on a 20-yard rush with four-and-a-half minutes remaining in the third quarter. The quarterback also successfully picked up the two-point conversion.
Allen fumbled on the Bills’ subsequent drive. However, the Texans could only muster a field goal from the possession, pulling Houston within five points.
However, this was when Watson and Hopkins found their grove. White, even with tight coverage, was unable to keep his All-Pro counterpart off the board for the entire game. Carlos Hyde scored the Texans next possession completing a five-yard touchdown rush. Hopkins scored on the two-point conversion, giving Houston their first lead of the day with 4:37 remaining in regulation.
Buffalo finally put together a decent drive, moving the ball efficiently in return. The Bills marched into Texans territory on six plays, stalling at the Texans 25-yard line. The following two plays after the two-minute warning were complete chaos for the Bills. Allen was sacked for a 14-yard loss, in addition to an intentional grounding penalty. The next play, Allen went in reverse once again, losing 19 yards on fourth down.
At this point, despair set in. Yet, the Bills defense, just as they have done all season, gave Buffalo another chance. The unit halted the Texans on four straight plays, giving Buffalo’s offense the ball with just over a minute remaining in the game.
The Bills drove down for a game-tying field goal. Stephen Hauschka made a 47-yard field goal to send the game to overtime.
Buffalo’s defense kept the game within striking distance, and the offense did just enough to send the game to overtime. Both teams matched each other in the extra session. The Texans and Bills both were forced to punt on their first possessions. Buffalo’s first possession pushed the ball into the fringe of Hauschka’s range, but a personal foul for a blindside block by Cody Ford took the team out of range.
The Bills continued to pressure Watson. However, the play of the game occurred when the Bills brought a massive amount of pressure, only to see Watson spin away from the apparent sack of Siran Neal and Matt Milano, only to find Taiwan Jones wide open for a 34-yard reception. This set up a 28-yard field goal for Ka’imi Fairburn, who sealed the deal for the Texans, sending the home team into the second round of the playoffs.
There will be many questions about Buffalo’s loss, especially among the coaching staff. The Bills took their foot off the gas and became much more conservative with a two-score lead. The Texans chipped away at the lead, and their final offensive play was one in which the Bills failed to execute the fundamental basics of tackling.
Mistakes doomed the Bills in the second half, ultimately ending their season with the many questions.
Buffalo will go into the offseason on the backs of their first 10-win season in two decades. However, this should have been their first playoff victory in 24 years. Instead, it goes down as just another loss for the Bills, their fifth consecutive in playoff defeat in franchise history.
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