BUFFALO, NY. (WKBW) — After his team suffered a 23-20 loss on a game-winning field goal, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott said after the game when it came to his clock management decisions late in the 4th quarter, "That's on me."
Based on the way they played in the first half, Buffalo had no business winning Sunday's game against the Houston Texans. But after a fumble recovery by the Bills led to a game-tying field goal with under four minutes left, there was a realistic chance for this team to steal a win in the Space City.
The Texans pinned Buffalo deep in their territory on the ensuing punt and that's when McDermott and offensive coordinator Joe Brady dialed up three straight pass plays from their three-yard line—taking just 16 seconds off the clock. On the ensuing Houston possession after a short pass, Ka'imi Fairbairn drilled the 59-yard game-winning field goal to seal the deal and end Buffalo's comeback bid.
But rewind to the last offensive possession for the Bills.
How do you explain the decision to pass the ball three straight times, knowing you're pinned deep and overtime is just 32 seconds away?
"I'm not going to get into that. I don't think that's relevant right now, and again, that's on me. I got to do a better job in that situation," said McDermott.
That was McDermott's response to the question after the game. We'll have to wait until Monday to hear from Brady on his part in that play-calling decision.
Hindsight is always 20/20 and there are plenty of things that happened way before the final minute of this game that Buffalo would love to have back. But looking back on those three plays and the outcome that resulted in part because of it, McDermott said things could've been handled differently.
"You go back and forth. I probably should've run it on the first play and just said hey where are we now," he added. "Either way we're going to have to move the chains one time to not give them a chance. Those are the situations and that's on me."
Buffalo finishes its grueling three-game road trip next Monday night against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
