Conservative nature finally sinks Bills
All season long, the Bills have played too conservatively in certain game situations. For the most part, it hadn’t really burned them. This was not the case on Saturday in Houston. The Bills didn’t go for the throat after grabbing control of the game in the first half. They played conservatively deep in Houston territory and left several points on the board by not finding the end zone after the first drive of the game.
Quite simply, the Bills can’t settle for four field goals and expect to win on the road against a team with Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins on the other side. The Bills needed to finish one more drive off in the end zone and they just couldn’t do it.
There were a number of factors that played into this. The Bills’ offense needed to execute better, but poor coaching also played a role. This poor coaching included both suboptimal playcalling and improper game management from the head coach.
The first instance where they Bills’ conservatism really bit them was at the end of the first half. Leading 10-0, the Bills had a chance to build a 17-0 halftime lead and really put a vice grip on this game. Allen had just converted a third down with a first down completion to Devin Singletary to put the Bills at the Houston 23 with 30 seconds left in the half. The Bills used their second timeout of the half here. With 30 seconds left, 23 yards to the end zone, and one timeout to play with, the Bills should have been throwing downfield to try to get the knockout touchdown, Instead, the Bills inexplicably ran on 1st and 10. Not only did they run, they ran with Frank Gore and not Singletary. Not surprisingly, the run only gained one yard.
But the Bills weren’t done making bizarre decisions in this sequence. McDermott instructed Allen to waste the Bills’ second down play by spiking the ball to stop the clock. The Bills ended up never using their timeout and Allen just barely missed a touchdown throw to Duke Williams on third down as Williams couldn’t haul in a throw into the end zone. Why the Bills decided to waste two down and try just one shot into the end zone is a mystery.
Brian Daboll called another inexplicable run on the Bills’ first drive of the second half, having Allen hand off to Singletary on third-and-3 from the Houston 38. Singletary lost two yards, pushing the Bills out of field goal range. McDermott then decided to punt on fourth-and-5 in Houston territory instead of keeping his offense on the field. The Bills needed to be far more aggressive here. Instead, they were fine sitting on a 13-0 lead.
When the Bills got the ball back again deep in Houston territory after the Hopkins fumble, they again tried a suboptimal running play, this time on 2nd and 10 from the Houston 14. The run gained two yards and was followed by a J.J. Watt sack on an obvious passing down. The Bills missed another chance for the knockout touchdown.
Incredibly, the Bills weren’t done calling pointless running plays in second and long situations. Trying to drive for the tying or potentially winning score with just over two minutes to play, Daboll called a run for Gore on second and 10 from the Houston 35. It lost three yards and set up the back-to-back disastrous plays from Allen that turned the ball over. Also, on 4th and 27, McDermott for some reason decided it was more likely that the Bills could convert than make a 59-yard field goal in an indoor stadium.
All season long, the Bills have gone conservative in specific situations, especially in the last minute of the first half. It was bound to catch up with them against an offense that can make them pay. The playoffs are not the time for poor game management. The decisions the Bills’ made are the kinds that get you eliminated. That’s exactly what happened to them on Saturday.