Getty Josh Allen reacts to a penalty in a playoff loss to the Houston Texans.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills will see a very different Houston Texans team than the one that ousted them from the 2019 playoffs in heartbreaking fashion.
Quarterback Deshaun Watson is estranged from the franchise, head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien has been fired, and star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins is off to greener pastures — and creating new heartbreak for the Bills. But despite the franchise overhaul, Allen said there’s some extra motivation to this week’s matchup against the Texans as the bad memories of his first playoff game still sting.
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Allen Looking to Even the Score
The last game against the Texans was one Allen would likely want to forget. He and the Bills squandered a 16-point second-half lead before rallying to send the game to overtime where a controversial penalty led to a stalled drive and set the stage for some magic from Watson to put the Texans in position to win. Allen said the 22-19 loss served as motivation for the next season, something he keeps in mind as the Bills prepare to face the Texans for the first time since that loss.
“No one likes losing, no one likes losing in the playoffs, especially with the lead we had going into that second half. It wasn’t a fun ride home and it was a long offseason,” Allen said via video conference on September 29. “That one, since it was so long in between games, really drove me.”
He makes it look too easy. 😎
@JoshAllenQB is the AFC Offensive Player of the Week: t.co/987K75jYnn
The loss also drove home the importance of playing at home in the playoffs, which served as motivation for Allen and the Bills in winning the AFC East last season. The team had two home playoff games last season, and though the COVID-impacted crowd numbered in just the thousands, the atmosphere helped the Bills to two victories before falling on the road to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
“Doing whatever we can to get home games in the playoffs,” Allen said. “Even looking back at this last season, having those two games at home and then going on the road, into a hostile environment, it’s no small task.”
A Blessing in Disguise
The loss may have led to some other positive changes for the Bills. One of the dominant narratives after the game was the lack of offensive weapons around Allen, something the Bills addressed that offseason by trading for Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
Allen also said the game made him realize that he needed to tighten up his own play. He was criticized for making a number of poor decisions in the loss, including an ill-fated lateral that luckily found its way out of bounds before the Texans could recover.
“I learned a lot from that game. Still, every time I see highlights or whatever from it, it just kind of makes me cringe because I know we should have been put in a better position and I know I had a huge part in that,” Allen said before last season, via NFL.com. “I take it very hard on myself, and I’m using that to motivate me.”
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