The Buffalo Bills have been ripped by many in the NFL community for how it handled the late-game play calling that allowed the Houston Texans to complete a 23-20 victory.
The Bills started 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, each falling incomplete and stopping the clock each time the ball hit the turf. After the Bills punted the ball back to the Texans, Houston started its final drive of the game from the Buffalo 46-yard line with seven seconds left in the game.
A CJ Stroud 5-yard completion and a quick timeout gave Ka’imi Fairbairn a kick to win the game from the center of the field from 59 yards away.
Fairbarn drilled it and many were baffled at how the Bills let this game slip away.
Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott called three passing plays on the Bills final possession
The play calls allowed the Texans to have enough time to kick a game-winning field goal
‘There will be worse losses in the #NFL this year than the one the #Bills just took. But there may not be a dumber one,’ ESPN’s Mike Greenberg said on social media.
‘Buffalo’s decision to throw it 3 straight times at their own 4 yard line & not make Houston burn any of its 3 TO’s 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…’ future NFL Hall of Famer JJ Watt said.
A collection of social-media messages from the NFL community on the end of the Bills game
Houston improved to 4-1 with the victory, while the Bills fell to 3-2 in a game that may prove to be important for playoff positioning later in the season.
Had the Bills called three run plays, the Texans would have likely called all three timeouts and been without one for their final possession, if they had one at all before overtime.
That game management, or lack thereof, is the lasting impression from Buffalo’s trip to Houston.