The Bills started their second possession at midfield after a short Houston punt, and they were moving smartly downfield until they reached first-and-goal at the 9 and then it all blew up.
A James Cook run was stuffed, Josh Allen suffered a sack, Keon Coleman had a false start, and on third-and-20 Allen threw incomplete toward Coleman, so they had to settle for a 38-yard Tyler Bass field goal, which, yes, he did make.
The drive began so well as James Cook had a 24-yard pass reception and four straight runs that totaled 26 yards before the drive died.
Well, even if the Bills were to lose Sunday to the Texans, they will remain alone in first place in the AFC East.
The Jets had a chance to get to 3-2 in London against the Vikings, and after falling behind 17-0 and looking overmatched, they rallied to within 23-17 and had the ball with a chance tp win in the final minute, but Aaron Rodgers threw his third interception of the game to old friend Stephone Gilmore, killing their comeback effort.
The Jets are now 2-3 and they’ll be pretty desperate next Monday night when they host the Bills, so maybe that’s not such a great thing for the Bills.
The last three times that Buffalo has ventured down to Houston, some crazy stuff has taken place which led to three Bills’ loss.
The last game here, of course, was the 2019 wild-card playoff showdown when the Bills blew a 16-0 third-quarter lead and fell 22-19 in overtime with Taiwan Jones – a Bills player before this game and then again after – made a huge catch and run play in overtime to set up the game-winning Houston field goal on a day when Deshaun Watson outplayed Josh Allen.
In 2018, Allen was making his fifth NFL start and in the third quarter, he suffered the only injury that has forced him to miss any games. He hurt his elbow when it was hit while he was making a throw, and Nathan Peterman had to come on in relief with the Bills trailing 10-3. Peterman led the Bills to a field goal and also threw a go-ahead TD pass to Zay Jones early in the fourth, but then he threw a game-deciding pick-six with 1:23 remaining and the Bills fell 20-13.
And back in 2014, EJ Manuel’s Bills’ career essentially ended when he threw an interception that JJ Watt returned 80 yards for a go-ahead Houston TD in the third quarter. And even though Manuel threw an 80-yard TD to Mike Williams to get the Bills within 20-17 in the fourth, but they eventually lost 23-17 and coach Doug Marrone benched Manuel the following week in favor or Kyle Orton. Manuel started only two games thereafter before leaving the Bills at the end of 2016.
The Bills will indeed have linebacker Terrel Bernard back Sunday against the Texans, but nickel cornerback Taron Johnson is still unable to return and is inactive for the game.
He is joined by wide receiver Khalil Shakir, defensive tackles Ed Oliver and Austin Johnson, safety Taylor Rapp, linebacker Edefuan Ulofoshio and offensive lineman Will Clapp.
Active for the Bills is newly-acquired defensive tackle Zion Logue as well as Branson Deen who was elevated from the practice squad. With Javon Solomon on the edge and DeWayne Carter at tackle, that’s four rookies on the Bills defensive line for this game.
The Texans also have a couple of key players out. Running backs Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce are down, so Cam Akers is likely to shoulder the bulk of the running game, and right tackle Tytus Howard is another starter who won’t play.
Bernard practiced during the week and was given a game status of questionable, but Ian Rapaport of NFL Network reported Sunday morning that Bernard is expected to play. As for cornerback Taron Johnson, we won’t be sure until the inactives are announced at 11:30 a.m.
Shavers was an obvious choice, but the undrafted rookie Deen being picked over veteran Eli Ankou was a bit of a surprise.
Betting line: Bills +1
Over-under: 47.5
Money line: Texans minus-120 (bet $120 to win $100) and Bills plus-100 (bet $100 to win $100).
Once again, I do not like the matchup for the Bills. While true, they should be a motivated team looking to bounce back from that debacle in Baltimore Sunday night and that makes them a bit frisky and dangerous, but the continued lack of a downfield passing game is problematic, especially with Shakir out. And defensively, with Oliver and Miller out, if the Bills have to also play without Bernard, Johnson and Rapp, the Texans could have a huge day on offense. That’s why I have it Texans 28, Bills 23
Play-by-play: Ian Eagle
Analyst : Charles Davis
Sideline reporter: Evan Washburn
∎ Cable/Network TV: CBS. The game will be available locally via the following stations: WROC channel 8 (Rochester area), WIVB channel 4 (Buffalo area), WTVH channel 5 (Syracuse area), WKTV channel 2 (Utica area), WENY channel 2 (Elmira area), WRGB channel 10 (Albany area), and WBNG channel 12 (Binghamton area).
∎ Online streaming services: You can watch games on NFL.com and the NFL mobile app, and you can subscribe to NFL+, the league’s own streaming service, though you can’t cast the games to your TV – you must watch on your phone or tablet.
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