“We needed the end of the game on offense, a tough situation,” McDermott said. “We had to keep the clock running and the chains moving and that’s on me. We didn’t do that there and that’s my fault.”

McDermott has a long history of problems with game management. No example infuriates Bills fans more than how he bungled the sequence that led to the Kansas City Chiefs tying the 2022 playoff game with just 13 seconds left.

When asked if he gave Brady the green light to call three consecutive plays, McDermott said he didn’t think those details were relevant. If the Bills had played three straight and not gotten a first down, they might still have given the ball back to the Texans, McDermott said.

The Bills’ offensive struggles offered an interesting subplot to the game, as former superstar receiver Stefon Diggs caught six passes for a game-high 82 receiving yards in a win for the Texans. The Bills have leaned heavily on their new “everybody eats” model in the passing game, but the group only managed four receptions on 18 targets for wide receivers in the game.

McDermott wants to look at the tape, but he made one comment about why the passing game struggled so much for the Texans, who totaled 425 yards in the game compared to just 276 for the Bills.

“I just feel like overall we maybe threw too much into the field,” he said. “I thought some of it was getting the ball out, I think it was (better) in the second quarter, maybe some of it in the third as well. I thought that was effective for us and it looked like maybe we were looking down the field. … We talked about it at halftime. We knew the first down wasn’t good for us.”

The Bills went 3-for-14 on third down and gave up an average of 3rd and 8 yards in the game.

“That’s not healthy,” McDermott said.

Allen completed just 30% of his throws, the lowest of his career. That’s the lowest completion percentage by a quarterback who has attempted 30 or more passes in a game in the last 30 years.

Allen said the connection between himself and his pass catchers was just off. He missed receiver Mack Hollins on what would have been a first-quarter touchdown after a bad turnover.

“When Dalton (Kincaid) also ran down the seam just before halftime, he had a chance, a chance there, we were a little off tonight,” Allen said. “That’s something I have to clean up and I’m proud of how we responded in the second half, got on our horses and gave ourselves a chance to win a football game.”

The Bills did have a chance to win the game, but their offense ended eight of 12 possessions with a punt. Allen didn’t turn the ball over. He hasn’t thrown an interception all season, but the passing game hasn’t been good enough to win the past two games.

When asked if he still has confidence in his receivers, Allen said he needs to make better decisions.

“I know I didn’t complete the ball at a high pace tonight and didn’t put the ball in danger, especially early in the first half, but I trust our guys,” he said. “I know you guys are going to be wild this week, but I love my guys and we’re going to keep working and this isn’t a defining moment in our season. It’s an opportunity to learn and grow from this and that’s what we’re going to do.”

McDermott said the Bills fell after the loss and there are no moral victories in the NFL. But he liked how his team fought back even when they didn’t get a win.

“To fight back after we crashed, like we did. We have a lot of young guys, especially on the defensive side, who are competing and giving us great efforts in all three phases,” he said. “Margins are small in the NFL and we have to keep working to improve and get some guys healthy at some point. I think that would help, but that’s no excuse. We have to find ways to get these out.”