Bills at Texans Week 5 snap counts: What happened to the offense?

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NFL: Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans
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A closer look at Bills’ positional battles roster-wide following the latest heartbreaking loss

The Buffalo Bills have come back down to Earth. After starting the season with three straight wins, Buffalo has dropped its last two games, most recently to the Houston Texans, 23-20, on a game-winning field goal as time expired. The Bills erased a 14-point deficit from an abysmal first half and nearly completed the comeback but coaching and awful offensive play calls were too much to overcome in the end.

Per usual, Buffalo entered the game with multiple key injuries. You can find the list of Week 5 inactives here, with key players such as defensive tackle Ed Oliver (hamstring), wide receiver Khalil Shakir (ankle), safety Taylor Rapp (concussion) and nickel cornerback Taron Johnson (forearm) all sidelined against the high-powered Texans offense. Luckily, linebacker Terrell Bernard returned to the lineup for the first time since he suffered a pectoral strain in Week 2.

Oh, and of course, prepare yourself for the NFL media to talk all week long about how Stefon Diggs got “revenge” on the Bills. JA17’s and Diggs’ postgame interaction certainly suggested that the two are in fact, not close friends anymore.

Bills offensive snap counts (61 snaps)

Where do I even start? After three weeks of nothing but dominance from the offensive line, it’s taken a significant step back over the last two weeks. Right tackle Spencer Brown (100%) didn’t allow a single quarterback pressure through the first three weeks, per Next Gen Stats. But, what about the last two weeks? Not so great — seven quarterback pressures, one sack allowed and FIVE penalties (three false starts and two holdings). Quarterback Josh Allen (98%) was pressured on 16 of his 30 pass attempts and had essentially nobody to throw to all game. He completed just nine (!) of his 30 pass attempts for 131 yards and a touchdown. He also smashed his head on the ground quite hard during one play but ultimately returned to the game just two snaps later.

Running back James Cook (59%) was one of the few bright spots on offense against Houston — totaling 99 scrimmage yards on 20 carries and two receptions and a touchdown. Wide receiver Keon Coleman (62%) led all pass-catchers in snaps and hauled in a huge momentum-shifting 49-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to bring the score within three points.

However, in a game where Shakir was sidelined, why did Coleman only finish with one reception on five targets? And to dive even deeper into this, why didn’t offensive coordinator Joe Brady dial up a good game plan for wide receiver Curtis Samuel (56%), who filled the slot role for Shakir yet hauled in 1-of-4 receptions for... zero yards? Why are the Bills targeting wideout Mack Hollins (54%) six times a game and treating him as if he’s the WR1? This wide receiver room is the worst that Allen has had since 2019.

Is it time to start talking about the underwhelming production from tight end Dalton Kincaid (62%) so far this season? The second-year tight end hasn’t eclipsed 50 yards in a single game in 2024 after doing so six times in his rookie season. With Shakir sidelined and a wide receiver room full of uncertainty, I’m sure many Bills fans expected Week 5 to be a big Kincaid game, and that wasn’t the case.

While we’re on the topic of tight ends, do you remember Dawson Knox (54%), the guy Buffalo is set to pay an $8.75 million base salary to in 2025 and has a grand total of three receptions for 30 yards through five games? Yeah... let’s get him involved soon considering his contract.

Bills defensive snap counts (68 snaps)

While Bernard (100%) returned and immediately made an impact by picking off quarterback C.J. Stroud in the middle of the fourth quarter, the defense was still banged up in multiple areas, and it was apparent. Rookie safety Cole Bishop (100%) got his first NFL start with Rapp on the shelf with a concussion, and it was obvious that he was either nervous or unprepared for such a potent passing attack. On wide receiver Nico Collins’ monster 67-yard touchdown at the end of the first quarter, cornerback Rasul Douglas (100%) was expecting some safety help over the top but Bishop was flat-footed for some reason.

Linebacker Dorian Williams (78%) has always flashed some clear upside but it really seems like he’s starting to figure it out. He’s seemingly looked better in each game and has now totaled double-digit tackles (11) in back-to-back games. It will be exciting for Bills fans to see both Bernard and Williams wreaking havoc in the middle of the field until Matt Milano can return from injury.

With Ed Oliver on the shelf after picking up a hamstring injury in practice, rookie defensive tackle Dewayne Carter (53%) received the nod for his first career NFL start and even out-snapped veteran DaQuan Jones (51%). I’ve admittedly not been team Carter thus far as he had virtually no production in a decent chunk of snaps through the first four games but he was dominating at the line of scrimmage and making noticeable plays. The third-round pick finished with two tackles for loss and one quarterback hit.

With edge rusher Von Miller suspended for four games, another rookie, Javon Solomon (22%) saw increased snaps and even recorded a quarterback hit. Edge rusher Greg Rousseau (76%) was a beast for the first three games but much like the offensive line, he has disappeared in big games and has very little production to show for it. He did record three quarterback hits on Stroud, though. This pass rush is still very underwhelming and Buffalo needs one or two players to breakout soon, especially come playoff time.

Bills special teams snap counts (31 snaps)

The usual special team’s leaders, fullback Reggie Gilliam (81%) and tight end Quintin Morris (81%) led the way in terms of snaps. I’m aware return specialist Brandon Codrington (29%) muffed a punt in Week 4 and recovered it but I’m shouting him out for being dependable enough (compared to previous years) and being a north-south runner to this point.

It was surprising to see Buffalo opt not to work out kickers this past week but kicker Tyler Bass (29%) drilled both of his field-goal attempts, including the game-tying field goal with just three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

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