The Buffalo Bills might not have been guaranteed a win in overtime, but they definitely didn't have to lose in regulation. Head coach Sean McDermott took the blame for a play-calling fiasco at the end of Sunday's loss to the Houston Texans, but no one's fessing up to putting the franchise quarterback back in the game after his head bounced off the turf.
Josh Allen's injury occurred as the Bills trailed the Texans by three points with about six minutes remaining in the game. The QB's legs were wrapped up as he fell and hit the side of his head, hard. Allen stayed down for a few moments, then went to the medical tent for further evaluation.
The injury occurred on a third-down play, so the Bills punted the ball. Houston only had possession for four plays before quarterback C.J. Stroud's fumble gave the ball back to Buffalo on the Texans' 15-yard line. The Bills hadn't yet completed Allen's evaluation, so backup QB Mitch Trubisky took over for one running play. With suspiciously convenient timing, Allen rushed to get back on the field for second down. He didn't complete a pass as the offense went three-and-out; Tyler Bass kicked a short field goal to tie the game at 20.
The Texans' penultimate drive ended right out of field-goal range due to Stroud's intentional grounding penalty, so they punted the ball back to the Bills. Tommy Townsend's kick was downed at Buffalo's 3-yard line, setting up a pretty easy path to OT, but the offense ran three pass plays, which resulted in three incompletions from Allen. The Bills were forced to punt with 16 seconds left on the clock, and the Texans, who still had all their timeouts anyway, ran one quick pass play before Ka'imi Fairbairn hit a 59-yard game-winning field goal. Houston won, 23-20, with no need for extra time.
There are two distinct issues with the Bills' late-game management yesterday, and together they can be taken as something more concerning than a typical Week 5 loss. One is how the head coach handled the clock. "We're in a tough situation ... they were holding three timeouts; they got a good field goal kicker," McDermott said after the game. "We needed to run the clock and move the chains, and that's on me. We didn't do that there, and that's my fault."
More astonishing is why McDermott would call five straight pass plays in that late-game situation with his quarterback performing as he was, even pre-injury. Allen was 9-of-25 before he hit his head, and he didn't complete another pass the rest of the way. Trubisky is a backup for a reason, but he was the only healthy quarterback, and even he can handle handing the ball off. Allen said afterward that he had an ankle injury, but the team still acknowledged that he was evaluated for a head injury and cleared to return, and the CBS broadcast caught a Bills staffer offering him smelling salts. The entire process was completed in approximately six minutes, and would've been quicker if Allen could find his helmet. The NFL's PR campaign around a safer game was always empty talk, but it's even more egregious when fans can see the coverup for themselves in real time.
