By CHUCK POLLOCK, Sun Senior Sports Columnist
The Bills couldn ‘t have picked a less opportune time to unfurl their worst performormance of the season.
Thursday night at Houston’s NRG Stadium, Buffalo looked anything but like a division contender, let alone a potential playoff team.
The Bills said good-bye to their bid for a sixth straight AFC East title with an embarrassing 23-19 loss to the Texans playing with a backup quarterback.
Buffalo QB Josh Allen looked anything but like the defending NFL MVP being sacked eight (8) times, the most of his NFL career. With Houston’s production Thursday night, the Texans, who top the NFL in defense, with 41 sacks, rank second only to Denver in that statistic league-wide.
But it wasn’t just the fact Allen went south eight times, it was the way they played out.
The Bills have spent this season slapping themselves on the back for the quality of play by their offensive line. But, on this night, it was collectively terrible.
Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter each had two sacks and Henry To’oto’o, Derek Barnett, former Bill Tim Settle and Mario Edwards got one each and all eight sacks came from the defensive line.
From the time Allen took the snap he was immediately under siege and from everywhere on the defensive line. But he also admitted “I ran into some of (those sacks) myself.”
The most embarrassing one was right out of the youth football playbook when he kept dropping back under chase and was dumped for an 18-yard loss.
It was hard to watch and not wonder whether Allen had some physical issue because he was hardly as elusive as we’ve become used to.
THE ODDITY is, as lousy as the Bills performance was, this game was there for the taking.
On it’s opening drive, Bills running back James Cook went 45 yards for a touchdown, but Matt Prater missed the extra point and Buffalo spent the rest of the game chasing it. On the Bills’ final possession, had Prater made that kick, the Bills could have tied the game with a field goal and gone to overtime.
Indeed, this loss wasn’t on the Buffalo defense as it surrendered only three points in the second half. Texans backup QB Davis Mills wasn’t exactly the second coming of Joe Montana but he was efficient, neither getting sacked nor intercepted and throwing two touchdown passes.
SO WHAT now?
Assuming the Patriots beat Cincinnati on Sunday to go to 10-2, they would lead Buiffalo (7-4) by 2 1/2 games in the division plus having the advantage of a head-to-head win.
It’s time for Bills fans to stop plotting for a division title and focus on whether Buffalo makes the playoffs at all. What it did Thursday night in Houston was hardly a post-season performance.
The Bills close the schedule, besides a games at New England, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, home with Cincinnati, Philadelphia and the Jets.
The Patriots, besides the Bills in Foxboro, play the Giants and Dolphins at home and the Bengals, Jets and Dolphins on the road.
NOTES FROM the Bills’ 23-19 loss to the Texans Thursday night in Houston:
— Bills’ backup running back Ray Davis returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown in the closing minutes of the first half that put Buffalo ahead. But the Texans responded with with a 75-yard six-play drive that was capped with Jayden Higgins’ 8-yard touchdown reception to put Houston up by four with five seconds left.
— Bills placekicker Matt Prater missed his first extra-point, it was his second miss of the season and proved costly.
— Late in the second quarter, Allen was intercepted when linebacker Sheldon Rankins tipped his pass which was picked off by safety Calen Bullock. He returned the pick for a an apparent touchdown but the score was wiped out by a penalty.
And with seconds remaining, Bullock intercepted another Allen throw, that was Bullock’s second of the season and the game clincher.
— Allen was dumped by Will Anderson, for a two-yard gain in the second quarter. Though in pain, he never did go into the blue tent. However, later Anderson got his ninth sack and in the third period he dumped Allen for an 18-yard sack, his 10th of the season.
Later in the third quarter, Allen was sacked by Danielle Hunter, his team-leading 10th of the season. On the last play of the third quarter, Allen was sacked a fourth time by Henry To’oto’o giving him 2 1/2 and the fifth sack was logged by Derek Barnett, his second and the sixth went to former Bill, Tim Settle, his first. Later, Hunter got his second of the game and 11th on the season and the final sack was by Mario Edwards.
— Buffalo players who spent time in the blue tent were offensive tackles Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown, linebackers Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano, cornerback Maxwell Hairston and wide receiver Khalil Shakir.
— The Bills game against Cincinnati in Orchard Park on Dec.7 has been flexed from a 4:25 start to 1 o’ clock.
— Inactive for the Bills were tight end Dalton Kincaid (hamstring), linebacker Shaq Thompson (hamstring), defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis (shoulder), wide receiver Keon Coleman and Elijah Moore and offensive tackle Chase Lundt.
(Chuck Pollock, a Wellsville Sun senior sports columnist, can be reached at cpollock@wnynet.net.)
