Buffalo Rumblings
Last. Second. Loss
The Buffalo Bills’ 2024 season has been written. So let’s add some “illustrations!” If you’re new to Plays That Defined, this isn’t a highlight recap, but rather a cathartic retelling of the past season, chapter by chapter.
Don’t vote for your favorite play necessarily, vote for the one that best represents that game’s narrative. I’ll recap the game to refresh your memory, but don’t feel locked in by my narrative.
Now 3-1 after falling to the Baltimore Ravens in spectacular fashion, the Bills traveled to Texas to take on Stefon Diggs and the Houston Texans. With the offseason split between Diggs and the Bills, this game felt more personal than any so far. While the defense wasn’t dominating for Buffalo, they did keep the Texans around their season average.
A “meh” game from the defense wasn’t as remarkable as quarterback Josh Allen and the offense having one of their worst games of the season. Allen, in particular, found his low marks in completion percentage, yards per attempt, and passer rating against Houston. The sputtering offense couldn’t take advantage of late-game opportunities to close, setting Houston up for a long-distance game winning field goal.
While it wasn’t a great day for the Buffalo Bills, it was still within striking distance of a normal NFL day when considering points. As such, it feels wrong to not include any good plays. This might be the best of the good plays (though see below for another contender). This play doesn’t come without a hitch though. To highlight the rest of the subpar day, this accounted for 49 of Allen’s 131 yards through the air.
There were two turnovers for Buffalo and none against. That’s typically a winning formula. Down by just three points, this turnover gave the Bills the ball at Houston’s 15-yard line and with just over four minutes to play. The defense wasn’t perfect in this game, but it did plenty to set Buffalo up to take the victory.
The Bills needed 15 yards for a touchdown and the lead after the fumble recovery. This was their second attempt to move the ball. Running back James Cook was able to haul it in, but not without drifting out of bounds. The first and third attempts didn’t go any better. Buffalo settled for a field goal to tie the game.
After the field goal, Buffalo allowed Houston to take more time off the clock than we would have liked, but did force a stop to get the ball back nearly in their own end zone. The Bills had no time outs, but it wasn’t crazy for them to try to make something happen as the Texans still had all of theirs. This series yielded no yards....
