Buffalo News

‘“You go through a season, it’s never a straight line in terms of the path to success, and you’ve got to go through the ebbs and flows of the season and manage them,” McDermott said when asked about Allen’s response to his 9-for-30 performance in Houston. “Sometimes it’s, hey, a gentle reminder of OK, this is the way that I’ve got to go about it. As you said, doing my 1/11th. And I know Josh is as competitive as there is, and we have full confidence in him, and I’m confident he’ll get back to doing that, and that’s important for us.”’

‘Cirrito invites a few former Bills each year to do meet-and-greets at the festival. Sunday’s celebrities were Scott Norwood, who lives nearby and comes almost every year; Thomas Smith, who lives in Arlington, Va., and has made multiple appearances; and Cribbs, who flew in from Alabama for a first-time appearance.’

‘The Bills have had 118 first-down plays this season and have called run plays on 72, a rate of 61%, according to Buffalo News charting.’

‘Will the Jets get a long-term bump by firing Saleh? History says no, but the Bills, a team with its own set of problems, should be on high alert. There is legitimacy to an initial interim coach bump – it tends to energize the building but it is fleeting.’

‘There were physical miscalculations, as well, as too much out-of-system freelancing led to Allen’s ineffectiveness. In most cases, plays weren’t the problem, but rather a failure in the philosophical approach and the basic execution.’

‘The Houston Texans on Sunday faced third down 16 times at NRG Stadium, and gained the necessary yardage for a first down eight times. What’s more troubling for the Bills is that nine of those third downs were classified as “long,” meaning the Texans needed to gain 7 yards or more to move the chains. Houston did so five times in those situations.’

‘Starter James Cook led the position by playing 36 of the team’s 61 offensive snaps (59%), but behind him, Ty Johnson moved into the No. 2 role ahead of rookie Ray Davis.’

‘The Buffalo Bills’ performance in the three wide receiver personnel group against the Houston Texans was stunningly futile and the worst of Josh Allen’s career. Allen completed just 3 of 20 passes for 76 yards with three wideouts on the field. The 49-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass to Keon Coleman came out of 11 personnel. The Bills ran the ball pretty well out of big personnel, with Alec Anderson on the field as the sixth offensive lineman, effectively as a jumbo tight end. The Bills ran 13 times for 79 yards, a 6.1-yard average, with Anderson on the field. It was one of the few tactics that worked vs. Houston.’

‘Josh Allen was just 6 of 24 passing outside the numbers for 77 yards, according to Buffalo News charting. It’s an illustration of the lack of success the Bills had getting the ball to their outside receivers.’

‘You can’t say CBS’ No. 2 NFL team didn’t make the Bills’ 23-20 loss to the Houston Texans entertaining. The announcing team had a very strong game, even if there was one huge oversight at the end.’

‘For the second straight week on the road against an AFC contender, the Bills didn’t do enough, resulting in a 23-20 loss that dropped them to 3-2 on the season.’

‘If the Bills were to get a first down, great. Overtime would follow. If the Bills failed to get a first down, not great – but at least the Texans would have little time and zero timeouts. Instead, chaos. And madness. And tomfoolery.’

‘“Playing my old team, I’m not gonna sit here and act like it was just regular,” Diggs said after the game. “It meant a lot to me, and it was reassuring that the guys around me knew that it meant a lot to me, even if I didn’t say it.”’

‘Let’s take a closer look at the race against the Jets (2-3). New York’s loss to the Vikings on Sunday was big because the Bills’ crossover game against the NFC North is at powerful Detroit. The Jets’ loss to Denver was big because it was an AFC West crossover game. The Bills’ crossover game with the West is vs. Kansas City. So the Jets have squandered the schedule edge that they gained via their third-place finish last season.’

‘Third-down defense is haunting the Bills. The Texans had conversions when needing third-down yardage of 5, 8, 11, 9, 7, 6 and 10 yards and went 8-of-16 overall. Stroud completed two passes for 11 yards on third-and-long in the final two-plus minutes. But on third-and-5, the officials did their job when Stroud was called for intentional grounding, pushing the Texans out of field-goal range with 41 seconds left.’