By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans went down to the wire in Week 6.
The Bills were dealt a curveball due to injury but still manged to grab the lead in the fourth quarter, however, the Texans notched a late score themselves to take home a 20-13 win over the Bills.
With that, here are five takeaways from the Bills’ loss to the Texans:
Allen update
Buffalo’s rookie quarterback Josh Allen made his fifth-straight start. It ended early as Allen went down at the end of the third quarter with a right elbow injury and he didn’t return. Prior to exiting the game, Allen looked like he has in recent weeks: A rookie. Allen struggled to pick up chunks of yards with his arm, going 10-for-17 for only 84 passing yards.
On the ground, Allen took a run 11 yards for a first down on a third down play. It still appeared that he was kept in the pocket by the Texans and he couldn’t get things going. We’ll see if Allen recovers enough in time to play in Week 7.
Turnover party
The Bills defense continued their knack for getting turnovers and made a bad Houston offensive line look exactly that way. Jordan Poyer intercepted quarterback Deshaun Watson in the end zone while Lorenzo Alexander did as well, tipping a pass and grabbing it at the line of scrimmage. Watson also lost a fumble which was recovered by rookie Harrison Phillips.
All the turnovers came because Buffalo’s defensive line man-handled the Texans’ offensive line. Buffalo landed 12 quarterback hits on Watson, good for seven sacks. In total, the Bills had another 11 tackles for loss. In total, Texans didn’t even out-gain the Bills. Buffalo’s offense had a 229-216 yard advantage.
Peterman Peterman’d
Things were looking good for Nathan Peterman when he first entered Sunday’s game, replacing Allen. Peterman tossed a perfect pass for the touchdown to Zay Jones in the corner of the end zone.
But when things were all said and done…
It’s going to be tough for Buffalo head coach Sean McDermott to justify keeping Peterman on his roster for much longer. If Allen’s injury is an extended one, you’ll likely have to start recently-signed Derek Anderson. Peterman’s game-winning, pick-six throw was one the Bills have seen far too many times. He added a second for good measure, too. Peterman finished the game 6-for-12 for 61 yards and his two picks.
Mo’ penalties, mo’ problems
The Bills didn’t do themselves many favors in the penalty category. Buffalo was penalized 12 times for a net loss of 104 yards against Houston. The Texans took six penalties for a loss of 50.
Multiple penalties came via their offensive line, but there was a variety, too. Fullback Patrick DiMarco lined up incorrectly, negating a big pass from Allen to Kelvin Benjamin. Phillips Gaines also took a defensive pass interference penalty, putting the Texans on the goal line late. Those are game-changing plays for a team that’s already struggling with a lack of talent on offense.
Defense is legit
It’s tough to watch the Bills’ defense. Not because of their performance, though. Houston, like many teams, couldn’t get things going against this Buffalo defense. Late on the goal line, the unit held the Texans to a field goal. Matt Milano made a game-saving (at the time) pass breakup. The defensive line lived in Houston’s backfield all game long.
It’s tough to watch this defense because the offense does nothing to complement them. Many of their efforts are not being capitalized.