Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans, Week 5 second half open thread

The Buffalo Bills are once again in a big hole after falling 17-3 to the Houston Texans and a lively home crowd at NRG Stadium. The flow of the first half felt all too similar to Buffalo's Week 4 game at the Baltimore Ravens.

Honestly, the Bills are very lucky that they don't lag even further behind the dynamic Texans. Wide receiver Nico Collins injured his hamstring on a 67-yard touchdown play, which brought Houston's offense back down to earth.

But these Bills can't rely on their opponent's injury and misfortune to shape their path to victory in the second half. Many are wondering what's going on with quarterback Josh Allen, the receivers or offensive coordinator Joe Brady. If you paid close attention in the first half, you probably noticed a largely inept offensive line in front of Allen.

The poor play on the O-line has resulted in Allen playing visibly under the weather and there are way too many possible interceptions. Entering the game, Allen was pressured, beaten or had a pass knocked down on 10 of 11 dropbacks.

The stats for Buffalo are abysmal: Allen finished 6 of 18 for 56 yards and only one rushing attempt for 10 yards. Looking at Allen's half, it's surprising he even managed to attempt 18 passes. The rest of the Bills' talented players didn't make much of an impression, and their insignificant stats aren't worth rehashing here.

Then, of course, at the worst possible moment, Buffalo's special teams gave up a long, devastating punt return to elderly wide receiver Robert Woods. This allowed the Texans to execute the first phase of what will undoubtedly end in a double-point deficit early in the third quarter.

It's time for head coach Sean McDermott to rally his team. It felt like a blip on the radar last week, but the same themes played out in Week 5 with the Bills. While we should continue to keep in mind that this year's team is changing in many ways, they have shown potential and the ability to make a lot of noise in a season that most expected would be regressing.

The next 30 minutes could tell us a lot about what kind of noise we can expect for the rest of this season. Here's your open thread for the rest of today's game. Remember, be kind to your fellow Rumblers, tolerant of trolls, and that a proper “Go Bills” can often resolve many concerns.