The Buffalo Bills keep losing the wrong games, even if no loss is a good one to claim. Eight sacks and two more very ugly interceptions for quarterback Josh Allen. That’s not winning football no matter who’s throwing the football. Yet… the Bills had a chance with less than two minutes to go, thanks to the most unlikely of trick plays actually working to convert a 4th & 27.

Was it an awful game by Buffalo’s offense? Yes. But much of that was due to the incredible performance by the Houston Texans’ defense. Houston now holds the record for most sacks against Allen in a single game. They wouldn’t allow Allen a moment’s rest in the pocket, where happy feet ruled the evening and proved fatal in trying to suffer through some troubling early play calling and worse execution by the wide receivers.

Buffalo is now 7-4 and in a real pit looking up at the New England Patriots. The Bills could ill-afford to drop a game ahead of their Week 15 rematch, yet here they are. Buffalo lost because the offense couldn’t handle the defensive pressure and turned the ball over three times.

The playoffs are still well within site for these Buffalo Bills, but their work against the best teams shows how far they have to go to become championship caliber. Allen didn’t play like an MVP in Houston, but this team too often demands him being able to cover up all the deficiencies.

This article will be updated as new content is written. Be sure to refresh the page to read more of my thoughts on this frustrating watch.

What are we doing, Joe Brady?

Look, Houston is the top-ranked defense for a reason, and they’ve made life glamorous for backup quarterback Davis Mills. That, alone, should mean that offensive coordinator well-understood his assignment: keep it simple, and trust those who’ve done well for you all season. So when it was clear that Josh Allen was in for a rough night, it made sense that the move was to lean heavily on running back James Cook III. In a game decided by four points, Cook was ignored far too often.

Cook finished with 17 carries for 116 yards and an opening drive touchdown on a 45-yard scamper. He also caught three passes for 13 yards. Brady and Allen seem determined to stick with their confounding use of Cook as a receiver, and it very well may have cost them in Week 12.

When Brady finally did remember that Cook was having a good night against a defense vulnerable to his play, he eventually found way to the worst play call of the night on a 4th & 1 in the fourth quarter. That call required a bit of trickery on a handoff that eventually landed with Cook — just as Houston’s defense surrounded him. That was the go-to in place of kicking for three points.

Buffalo’s short-yardage calls continue to be a major concern, where too often they default to trickery or perfect theater/execution to make it work. It doesn’t need to be so cute, so complicated when there’s one yard to gain. Josh Allen and James Cook make that so, yet even they won’t overcome faulty play calling against the best defense. We’ve seen this happen at all points on the field, from deep in their own end of the field, to the midfield no-man’s land and at the goal line — whether for six or in trying a two-point play.

This performance isn’t all on Brady, nor Allen, nor even the inept play out of a lot of guys in the wide receivers room. It’s on all of them, and it’s likely no amount of preparation changes what unfolded in Houston.

Speaking of preparation…

Keeping Keon Coleman sidelined doesn’t benefit anyone

Head coach Sean McDermott is all about making sure players understand they have to constantly earn their opportunity to play. It’s a noble cause, but sometimes professional football players just want to be treated more like adults than children at boot camp. Whatever is or is not around Coleman’s two-game benching is no one’s business outside of One Bills Drive and Coleman’s family and confidants. Recent comments about mental health should be heeded and respected.

This entire situation feels a lot like Buffalo cutting its nose off to save face. Are there faults in Coleman’s game this season? Of course there are, but he’s not getting better by holding a football on the sideline and dabbing up his teammates as they hit the Gatorade jug.

Time moves quickly for those in the NFL, and there are but limited chances to see just what Coleman can bring to the offense. He now has two less thanks to a combination of his missteps and One Bills Drive’s disciplinary plan. Enough is enough. Outsiders don’t need more questions fielded about the issue, press conferences scheduled to get out in front of the drama, and most of all the social media cesspool that demands being first to report a guy’s healthy inactive status.

It needs to be handled in-house and that’s it. The end. Whoever leaked the information to a certain unofficial outlet has done Coleman and the Bills no favors in the public sector. It’s become an all-consuming topic that should be nothing more than a simple deflection to keep things private. No amount of likes, clicks, comments, or website visits is worth potentially further damaging an important football relationship.

A lot of people keep taking about Coleman needing to be woken up. It’s nothing more than conjecture. Wait for facts, if anything at all. But understand that everything about Coleman’s life is not everyone’s business. Trying to make it so just paints a far uglier picture than anyone deserves.

The entire situation is a real distraction at this point in the season.

Sean McDermott should feel the heat right now

Short week or not, and despite facing the best defense in the NFL the Bills look largely unprepared to face a dangerous Texans team. Since 2023, Buffalo is now 11-11 in road games during the regular season (4-4 2023; 5-4 2024; 2-3 2025). That’s not going to cut it, and it’s very likely these Bills will have to play a few road games in their quest to reach the Super Bowl. Is this team championship caliber? I don’t believe they are, not beyond Allen (who’s having a frustrating season) and of course James Cook.

Texans head coach Demeco Ryans held two walk through sessions with his players, and one full practice on Tuesday, but I found it interesting that One Bills Drive held nothing but walkthrough sessions ahead of Week 12. It may seem like a small thing, but for an offense with a passing game under great scrutiny, wouldn’t actual practice sessions have helped instead of whatever dress rehearsals they held?

This team lacks toughness in too many places, and it sure feels like they backed off on the physicality heading into Houston. That worked well, didn’t it? If they’re worried about injuries in practice, that’s another issue to tackle because things aren’t friendlier in any game. This isn’t sleep-away camp.

Yet there’s a real concern with the amount of injuries…

The Bills are gonna need a bigger medical tent

All told, the Bills saw eight different players suffer injuries in Week 12. That’s an alarming number, and may speak to some fundamental issues. Is a shakeup needed (again) within the strength & conditioning team? Yes, injuries are often the ultimate unknown, but there’s something to be said for how a person processes and contends with injury.

Joining an already crowded list heading into Week 13 are:

Josh Allen
Spencer Brown
Maxwell Hairston
Terrel Bernard
Christian Benford
A.J. Epenesa
James Cook
Connor McGovern
Dion Dawkins
Khalil Shakir

We didn’t receive a lot of information about why Cook or McGovern were attended to, and several other players returned following checks and similar (Benford, Cook, Dawkins, Shakir, etc). It’s going to be a difficult week of prep to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. Right tackle Spencer Brown is an absolute warrior. He should have been taken out far earlier, but he’s made up of the same stuff that fuels Josh Allen.

Texans show Brandon Beane what he covets

The Bills have a pass rush problem, despite what all the fancy stats sites tell you. Once again, Buffalo’s pass rush disappeared in a game where they needed to shine. And against a very “gettable” Davis Mills and company. Defensive end Joey Bosa has improved things for the defensive line, but it’s clear that Beane’s going to have to keep throwing darts to figure the rest out.

Injuries at defensive tackle haven’t helped, but for all the good stats we hear about defensive end Greg Rousseau, he doesn’t play an explosive brand of football when it seems to matter most. Mind you, that’s not always the case, but it’s fair to compare the Bills’ defensive end situation to their concerns at wide receiver.

Is Buffalo’s front office headed towards another offseason where retooling the defensive line takes priority? It may be necessary, given what Beane watch Houston do to Josh Allen and the offensive line. Will Anderson Jr. may live rent free in Beane’s head for a bit.

Missed XP changed how Buffalo played the end of regulation

I liked what the offense showed when they had to have points at the end of regulation, even if it ended with Allen tossing another bad red zone interception. It’s just unfortunate that they didn’t have the extra point following their first touchdown. Could reality have played out differently? You know how that goes, but instead of having to drive the field for a touchdown, they could have lived to fight another down by only needing a field goal to tie. That also makes Brady’s play call on the 4th & 1 discussed above look even worse.

It’s a lot of little things with the Bills in 2025, and when you add them up it sure doesn’t feel like they win a Super Bowl next February.

Bills at Texans Week 12 game stats (courtesy NFLGSIS)