Bills Mailbag: Who's responsible for Josh Allen being sacked so much against Houston?
Everything’s bigger in Texas. That includes the Buffalo Bills’ list of problems after their 23-19 loss to the Houston Texans on Thursday night.
Texans linebacker Henry To'oTo'o sacks Bills quarterback Josh Allen on Thursday night in Houston.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo New
Everything’s bigger in Texas. That includes the Buffalo Bills’ list of problems after their 23-19 loss to the Houston Texans on Thursday night. Let’s get right to your questions coming out of a miserable start to Week 12 for the local professional football team. …
Kurt in Grand Island asks: Eight sacks allowed! Who do you think is most responsible – the offensive line, Josh Allen, or Joe Brady’s play calling? I say the offensive line.
Jay: The correct answer is it’s a combination of all three of them. That type of number doesn’t happen without that being the case. Now, I found this statistic that was shared on social media by ESPN NFL analyst Dan Orlovsky recently to be interesting: In 2024, Allen was sacked 14 times on 537 drop backs. He threw the ball away 24 times. In 2025, entering the game against Houston, Allen had been sacked 20 times on 308 drop backs, with just six throwaways. That sack total is now up to 28, double the amount he took last year.
“Throw the ball away,” Orlovsky said. “Let your (completion percentage) take the hit. You don't have the receivers to play behind schedule.”
The troubling part of the offensive game plan is the seeming lack of in-game adjustments from Brady while Allen was getting roughed up.
“We need to be better there. We absolutely do,” coach Sean McDermott said in response to a question about the in-game adjustments, or perhaps lack thereof.
All three parties – Allen, the offensive line and the coaching – deserve blame for what happened in Houston.
Mike Kirkland asks: If the Bills have a chance of pulling out of their offensive doldrums, it lies in Brian Daboll. Sean McDermott needs to swallow his pride and do what’s best for the team. Brady is not the man. Full stop. His play-calling against the Texans, another in a long line of uninspired performances, was abysmal. He refused to adjust to the torrent of Texan rushers with anything up tempo and quick hitting until the last drive. If nothing else, Daboll brings fresh thinking to the table, a great offensive mind, and a trusted rapport with Josh Allen. Otherwise, it seems this team is on a death march, and another year of Allen will be wasted. Thoughts?
Jay: I started pushing for Daboll’s return the minute he got fired by the Giants. Nothing has happened since to change my mind. I absolutely think the Bills should have an interest in bringing him back. Now, there are a couple important points to make. No. 1, is this entire conversation is a nonstarter because McDermott said it’s not under consideration. Let’s say that this most recent performance against the Texans has changed the math, though. The second point is, we have no idea if Daboll would be interested in coming back. While I don’t believe that’s because of any friction with McDermott, the reality is Daboll might be able to land a far more lucrative offer at the college level. He’s got ties to Penn State, and Bills owner Terry Pegula has ties to the Nittany Lions. Let’s say Daboll was interested in that job. He’d make way more money there than he would with the Bills. Only he knows the answer to how willing he’d be to come back to Buffalo. If he did have an interest, I agree that McDermott should make it happen. Like, right now.
Ed asks: Why do many of us sense that Josh Allen doesn’t trust several of his wide receivers like Curtis Samuel, Josh Palmer, Elijah Moore, and to some extent, Tyrell Shavers? In your opinion, is it because they aren’t talented, can’t get open, the pass plays are awful, the offensive coordinator doesn’t capitalize on their strengths, or maybe something else?
Jay: Like the question above about sacks, it’s a combination of all of the above, with the exception of a lack of talent. Every player on an NFL roster is exceptionally talented – to the point they are one of the very best in the world at what they do. Now, that’s not to say that the Bills have more talent at wide receiver than other NFL teams. In fact, they might have the least amount in the league, which is why Brandon Beane’s radio rant on the subject in the spring is aging like milk left outside on a July day in Death Valley. Separation amongst the receivers on their routes has been well documented as a problem. That leads to not being open. The play calling from Brady lacks creativity and is predictable. The players could be used in different ways. All of that has been true at times this season. Specifically against the Texans, Allen was under siege when he dropped back to pass seemingly every time. That obviously has an impact on the overall success of the passing game, too. There are a lot of problems at the moment, and not a lot of easy answers.
DavyBoy asks: This question seems silly since Josh Allen had a monster game against Tampa Bay, but I counted three really horrible overthrows on little 10-yard out patterns to receivers that were wide open. Was this impacted by the weather? Or is Allen still having issues with his mechanics – saying he isn't trusting his feet for instance? What say you?
Jay: The wind certainly had an impact throwing the ball against the Buccaneers, although Allen generally wouldn’t use that as an excuse. He simply missed a few throws that he usually makes, but the good outweighed the bad in that game. Against Houston, a much harder defense to play against, Allen wasn’t able to overcome some of his mistakes.
Mike in Tampa asks: On the question of Keon Coleman, how much money did the Bills pay him last year and how much will they pay him this year? Is it possible that now he’s making “big bucks,” the effort has fallen off because of it?
Jay: Coleman’s four-year rookie contract is worth up to $10.074 million, which includes $9.640 million guaranteed. He received a $4.146 million signing bonus. His base salary last season was $795,000. That has increased in 2025 to $1.252 million. That’s great money, of course, but it wouldn’t seem to be a cause for lack of motivation. If anything, Coleman should be hungry to get a second contract, either from the Bills or another NFL team. That’s where players make really big money. Clearly, he’s got a ton of work to do before that is going to happen.
Mongol Mike asks: Will the design and positioning of the new Highmark Stadium prevent or curtail high-wind situations like we’ve seen for the past 52 years? Better yet, what can fans expect regarding the bad weather experience in the new stadium?
Jay: Correct. The new stadium is supposed to have a “wind confusion” system that should reduce the impact on especially breezy days. It will be interesting to hear from Allen and the Bills’ kicker, punter and return men just how impactful that is. I did have to laugh at the aerial photo of the new stadium recently that showed the new seats covered in snow. Clearly, the overhang isn’t going to offer protection from the weather for everyone inside the new stadium.
Thank you for all the questions this week! As a reminder, they can be submitted via X to @JaySkurski or by email to jskurski@buffnews.com.