5 lessons from the Bills’ disheartening 23-20 loss to Texas

The Buffalo Bills suffered another loss in their hotly anticipated Week 5 matchup against the Houston Texans and are once again looking for answers after their second straight loss. Fortunately, the rest of the AFC East isn’t very good, so the Bills still have a chance to win the next division crown. That’s a bit ahead of us, though, especially considering their recent defeat, which exposed many key questions and concerns. Here are five takeaways from Buffalo’s 23-20 loss.

The Bills couldn’t do anything right in the first half, giving way to a 17-3 deficit. The defense was unable to get to C.J. Stroud and was generally unable to stop the Texans’ offense, including a 78-yard pass to Nico Collins. Rookie safety Cole Bishop struggled early and lost position on some plays. Buffalo was fortunate to trail by just 14 points at halftime, which ultimately allowed it to attempt a comeback in the final two frames.

Related: What WR Stefon Diggs said about beating his former team in the Bills’ 23-20 loss to Texas

The Bills’ offense struggled mightily against the Texans’ defense. Allen was unable to pass early in the game, Kincaid was non-existent, and Samuel is simply non-existent in this offense outside of cute plays that don’t fool the defense. Keon Coleman made a great play for an impressive touchdown in the third quarter, but with only one catch, the team needs more from him. Shakir became the main receiver and handler, and his absence due to an ankle injury was greatly felt in this competition. Buffalo needs to get him back in the game ASAP. Additionally, general manager Brandon Beane must seriously consider trade options to acquire another receiver for the One Bills Drive.

Terrel Bernard single-handedly helped the Bills get back into the game and give them a chance late in the game. His fourth-quarter stop in the second quarter was huge, and he later made a huge interception in the fourth quarter. Bernard finished the game with five tackles, a pick and a pass deflection. It’s great to see Bernard back on the field after his pectoral strain, and hopefully the Bills will start getting some of their injured players back soon.

The defense didn’t have many answers in the first half; however, thanks to the loss of Texans receiver Nco Collins, the defense showed up in the second half. They held Houston to just six points and forced two turnovers in the second half, but that was three points too many. Buffalo badly needs Taron Johnson back, but the players and coaches did a phenomenal job making changes at halftime and helped Buffalo get back into the game.

Related: Bills thwart their own comeback attempt in an ugly 23-20 loss to the Texans

Regardless of your opinion of Sean McDermott, it’s hard to defend the team’s decision to throw three touchdown passes in a row at the end of the game. Being backed up on the five-yard line with less than a minute left in the tie, it seems foolish to repeatedly set off bombs. At least try to pass through a screen (although the Bills have never been very good at the screen game) or just run the ball. Coming into this game, the Texans allowed 4.7 yards per rush and on Sunday they allowed 5.4 yards per carry; The running game worked throughout the competition and it was absurd to divert attention from the ground game when running with the ball was clearly the most effective strategy.

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