Jan. 4, 2020, will be one of the most memorable events in Houston sports history.
The Texans overcame a 16-0 third quarter deficit to vanquish a franchise that had etched a place in the city’s collective consciousness — even though that was technically another team’s fault, not the Texans’.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson was relentless as he completed 20 passes on 25 attempts for 247 yards and a touchdown while also rushing 14 times for 55 yards and a score. The 121.2 passer rating came with pressure as he sustained seven sacks on the Saturday afternoon at NRG Stadium.
Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn booted through a 28-yard field goal, and the Texans were headed to either Kansas City or Baltimore based on what the Tennessee Titans did to the New England Patriots later that night.
Even though the Texans’ playoff exit would be an ignominious 51-31 loss at the Chiefs, only because of the fact Houston held a 24-0 lead, the playoff win over the Bills was enough for chairman and CEO Cal McNair to dole out promotions.
“Preparations are underway for the 2020 season and I thought it was important to update titles, roles and responsibilities for Bill O’Brien and Jack Easterby so they more accurately reflect the way we have been operating for the past eight months,” McNair said in a statement on Jan. 28, 2020. “I was encouraged by the progress that our team made on the field this year which was due in part to our new structure, operating approach and the leaders within our football operations group. I am proud that we provided our fans with many thrilling victories at home, including a playoff win, and we delivered another double-digit win season. Our fans deserve that, but now it is time for the organization to get back to work toward our pursuit of a world championship for the city of Houston.”
O’Brien was doubled up as general manager and Easterby was promoted to executive vice president of football operations.
While the Texans were promoting a coach who traded away their premium draft picks for the next two seasons, the Bills were entering their fourth offseason with Brandon Beane as general manager.
Theoretically, Houston could have been entering their third with Brian Gaine as general manager if he somehow hadn’t been fired on June 7, 2019, as part of Easterby’s early play for Nick Caserio.
While the Texans traded three-time All-Pro receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the offseason, the Bills acquired a No. 1 receiver in Stefon Diggs.
While the Texans rolled with a former All-Pro running back in David Johnson, the Bills drafted Zack Moss in the third round.
While the Bills built around quarterback Josh Allen, the Texans were hoping Watson could bail them out of their mistakes in roster construction.
The results are evident. Buffalo is now in the AFC Championship Game, a round the Texans have never been to, and a round the city of Houston has never experienced since the 1979 Oilers. The Bills’ last trip to the conference title game was in January 1994, the last of their four consecutive Super Bowl appearances.
What the Bills’ Terry Pegula, co-owner and CEO, and Kim Pegula, president and CEO, understand that McNair doesn’t is stability. The Pegulas have allowed Beane and coach Sean McDermott to go to work and established boundaries of responsibility. McDermott isn’t doing general manager work. Beane has been in place since 2017. The fruits have been playoff appearances and playoff wins.
As the Bills await to see if they will play the Cleveland Browns or the Chiefs in the AFC title game, Texans fans are waiting to see who they will hire as coach and if it is enough to pacify Watson, who has felt ignored and alienated in the general manager hiring process despite McNair saying he would be included.
The Texans may have beat the Bills in the 2019 playoffs, but Buffalo has been winning in areas Houston can’t.