HOUSTON - Dion Dawkins owned it. The left tackle’s false start penalty with 24 seconds remaining Thursday night could not have come at a worse time because that dumb mistake quite possibly cost the Buffalo Bills a chance to pull off what would have been an incredible victory.
“I’ve got to be better, for sure,” Dawkins said following the 23-19 loss to the Houston Texans. “It happens time after time. It’s hard. It’s hard to play offensive line. It’s hard to be at your best at all times. Stadiums, like this, it’s loud. There’s no excuse. I pride myself on being the best.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe penalty, Dawkins’ NFL-leading 10th of the season, capped a night for Buffalo’s offensive line that could only be described as horrible. It went against a ferocious Houston defense that is No. 1 in the league in both points and yards allowed, and it got eviscerated.
Josh Allen was sacked eight times for 70 yards and NextGenStats computed that he was sacked on 53.3% of his pressured dropbacks, the highest pressure-to-sack rate of his career. Several of those were on Allen, but he had no help from his line and that’s something we never say about the fivesome of Dawkins, Spencer Brown, David Edwards, O’Cyrus Torrence and Connor McGovern.
That unit has been consistently good, sometimes great, for three years running, but Houston’s dynamic edge rushing duo of Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter combined for 4.5 sacks, and their DTs like Sheldon Rankins, Denico Autry and ex-Bill Tim Settle had their way with the interior.
“Well, that’s how they’ve built it and that’s what you want to be able to do,” coach Sean McDermott said of the Texans ability to generate their tidal wave pass rush with just the front four, enabling them to cover with seven. “We talk about that a lot, right? I think they had 12 hits on Josh, eight sacks. That’s not a healthy formula right there.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement“Tough one for the boys. Better days to come,” Dawkins said. “It kind of feels like it’s the last game of the year, but it’s not.”
He’s right, it’s not the last game; there are six more to go, but now with a 7-4 record and trailing the New England Patriots by two-games plus a head-to-head tiebreaker, it certainly feels like the Bills’ five-year reign atop the AFC East is over.
Here’s how I graded the Bills:
PASS OFFENSE: D
Henry To'oTo'o of the Houston Texans sacks Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills during the fourth quarter at NRG Stadium on November 20, 2025 in Houston, Texas.Allen was harried all night and because the Texans are so athletic, he couldn’t escape the way he usually does. When he was able to get rid of the ball, he finished 24 of 34 for 253 yards, but he also had two interceptions and produced zero TDs passing or rushing.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKhalil Shakir was the only WR who did anything meaningful as he caught eight passes for 110 yards, though he did make a major mistake when he lost a third-quarter fumble. He had a huge 44-yard catch and run that converted a third-and-12 and led to Matt Prater’s field goal that cut the deficit to 23-19, and he also took the lateral from Joshua Palmer on the fourth-and-27 play on the final drive and completed the stunning 33-yard play.
Palmer had two catches for 21 yards, Gabe Davis just one for 22, while Tyrell Shavers wasn’t even targeted. At tight end, Jackson Hawes and Dawson Knox combined for five catches for just 43 yards.
RUN OFFENSE: B-
James Cook III of the Buffalo Bills scores a touchdown against Calen Bullock of the Houston Texans during the first quarter at NRG Stadium on November 20, 2025 in Houston, Texas.James Cook got off to a hot start as he broke a 45-yard touchdown on the first series of the night and he went on to finish with 116 yards, sending him across the 1,000-yard plateau for the third straight years. He is just the third player in team history to rush for 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons, joining Thurman Thomas (8) and O.J. Simpson (5).
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCook had a couple nice runs in the second half, but he was stuffed on a critical fourth-and-1 play at the Houston 23 early in the fourth quarter, a play that seemed to get called too late and forced the Bills to rush. It was a bad call, regardless, because trying to run in that situation against a great Texans defense was a reach. Joe Brady needed a pass there.
PASS DEFENSE: C+
Davis Mills of the Houston Texans throws a pass against the Buffalo Bills during the first quarter at NRG Stadium on November 20, 2025 in Houston, Texas.The Bills’ pass rushers got to watch what a real pass rush looks like when the Texans’ dominant front four was on the field. While they were getting eight sacks, the Bills’ unit got zero. In fact, Texans QB Davis Mills was never sacked and was hardly even touched, just a miserable performance by Joey Bosa, Greg Rousseau, AJ Epenesa and the rest. Yes, Mills was getting rid of the ball quickly, but the lack of pressure was problematic.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe finished just 16 of 30 for 153 yards because the Bills did a great job on both WR Nico Collins (3-55) and TE Dalton Schultz (1-8), Houston’s top two targets, but it was the lesser targets that did the damage. Christian Kirk, who has been a non-factor all year, had five catches for 54 yards and a TD, and rookie Jayden Higgins had 4 for 38 and a TD. Kirk made a huge 33-yard reception late in the first half that set up Higgins’ TD for a 20-16 halftime lead.
Cole Bishop had another strong game as he, Jordan Poyer and Greg Rousseau led the defense with six tackles each.
RUN DEFENSE: B-
Woody Marks of the Houston Texans runs the ball against Jordan Poyer of the Buffalo Bills during the first quarter at NRG Stadium on November 20, 2025 in Houston, Texas.It was shaky in the first half when the Texans piled up 79 yards, but was much better in the second half as they finished with just 108. Rookie Woody Marks led the way with 74 yards. Marks had one of the big plays of the night when he powered through both Taron Johnson and Epenesa to convert a third-and-2 at the Buffalo 11 in the third quarter that led to Houston taking its final four-point lead.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn the inside, there was a little more gap integrity from DTs Deone Walker, DaQuan Jones and Larry Ogunjobi, though Walker had a damaging 15-yard facemask penalty. Still, they weren’t being gouged out the way they’ve been in several games this season.
SPECIAL TEAMS: D+
Matt Prater of the Buffalo Bills kicks a field goal against the Houston Texans during the second quarter at NRG Stadium on November 20, 2025 in Houston, Texas.It was not a great start as Jordan Hancock committed a holding penalty on Houston’s first punt; Matt Prater missed the extra point following Cook’s touchdown; on the ensuing kickoff, the Texans got a 37-yard return from Jaylen Noel; and then Jackson Hawes was called for holding on the next Texans kickoff. All of that happened in the first quarter.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRay Davis, celebrating his birthday, sure made up for some of that misery in the second quarter when he returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to give the Bills a 16-13 lead.
More trouble in the third quarter as Shakir went backwards and lost seven yards on a punt return and there was also a penalty on Cam Lewis that pushed the ball back to the 10. Punter Mitch Wishnowsky had a decent night with a 45.3 net on his three punts, allowing zero return yards, but the Bills lost the field position battle.
COACHING: C-
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott looks on in the second quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.McDermott made a bold decision on the first series when he had the Bills go for a fourth down at their own 28 and it worked out because they made it, then went on to score a touchdown. In all, he went for it five times on fourth down and the Bills converted three, though three of those were plays where he had to go for it.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe and Bobby Babich’s defense had a rough start, but they really turned things around after halftime and Houston’s offense was stymied the rest of the night, and that was impressive because the Bills lost Terrel Bernard and Max Hairston to injuries.
Brady had a tough night because he did not have nearly enough answers for Houston’s outstanding defense. He can’t be blamed for the protection breakdowns, but the continued issue with scheming receivers open was a big issue on a night when Allen had no one open in the face of that pressure.
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for more than four decades including 36 years as the full-time beat writer/columnist for the D&C. He has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at [email protected], and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Bills report card: Josh Allen sacked 8 times vs Texans
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