The Buffalo Bills (3-2) came into Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans (4-1) looking to avenge their loss last week to the Baltimore Ravens after what could be considered their poorest effort of the season. The fact that the Bills would be facing wide receiver Stefon Diggs for the first time since trading him to Houston in the offseason made the game that much more important, but with an unfortunate result.
Buffalo lost to Houston 23-20 despite the fact that the Bills came back from a 17-point deficit to tie the game at 20-20 before Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn made a 59-yard field goal to give Houston the win with just seconds left on the clock. The Bills’ passing game left a lot to be desired as the team racked up a whopping 126 passing yards on 30 attempts while the Texans put up 331 yards through the air.
Running back James Cook was the best player for the Bills as he ran 20 times for 82 yards and one touchdown while adding two catches for 17 yards in the receiving game.
Without further ado, here is the stock report following Sunday’s loss to the Texans:
Stock Up: RB James Cook
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The Bills’ offense did not show up against the Texans on Sunday, but Cook was the lone bright spot as he was effective in the ground game. Cook also did a good job of making plays in the passing game when the opportunities came and that was helpful during Buffalo’s comeback.
Stock Down: QB Josh Allen
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While Allen did exit this game to be evaluated for a concussion, he was able to return, but he did not make much of an impact when Buffalo needed him to. Completing nine of 30 passes has to be one of Allen’s worst performances of his career and while the receiving corps is not as good as it was last season, Houston has been exploited by through the air and Allen wasn’t able to continue that trend.
Stock Up: LB Terrel Bernard
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Bernard returned to the Bills’ lineup after missing the past two games due to a pectoral injury, but he came back to Buffalo’s defense in style. Bernard racked up five tackles, one pass defended, and had a pretty big interception as the Bills were trying to make their comeback after trailing by a 17-point deficit.
Stock Down: DE AJ Epenesa
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While the Bills’ defense was not good as a unit, this is to illustrate how disappointing Epenesa has been this season when Buffalo has been in search of someone to lead the pass rush. After this game, Epenesa is now up to one sack and isn’t on pace to match or exceed the 6.5 sacks that he’s put up in each of the past two seasons.
Stock Up: K Tyler Bass
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Bass has been good for the Bills this season and it was more of the same on Sunday as he nailed two field goals from 38 yards and 33 yards at critical junctures as Buffalo was mounting its comeback. For now, it seems that Bass is locked in and if the Bills need to rely on his leg, he’s ready to deliver.
Stock Down: Bills Passing Defense
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The Bills’ passing defense did not show up to play and it was a major reason for the reason that they were trailing by 17 points at one point in this contest. Granted, Houston boasts one of the wide-receiver corps in the NFL, but six different Texans had at least 31 yards receiving in a game that came down to the wire.
