David Benjamin De Cristofaro, Bills WireTue, November 25, 2025 at 9:56 PM UTC·2 min readBuffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott had pocket pressure issues on both sides of the ball in Thursday night's 19-23 loss to the Houston Texans.
“They had 12 hits on Josh, eight sacks. That’s not a healthy formula right there,” McDermott said about the Texans' defense. “It’s not a healthy way to play or a healthy way to keep our quarterback healthy through the remainder of the season.”
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Texans sacked Buffalo QB Josh Allen a career high eight times.
“It's a good unit,” Allen said about the Houston pass rush. “Statistically, they're the tops in basically everything that you can be; they showed that tonight. It's a really good football team.”
McDermott also noted that his club needed to avoid obvious passing situations that allow defenses to get to the quarterback.
“That’s where the hits come, second down and long turns into third down and long, and that’s the unhealthy formula I’m talking about, and Josh takes too many hits. So we’ve got to figure that piece out,” McDermott added.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn defense, during a day that figured to see a similar attack on Houston's pass pocket, the Bills' pass rush was uneventful.
QB Davis Mills was only pressured on just 3 of his 21 drop-backs. Buffalo didn't sack him once, but they did continue to fail to stop the run, giving up 108 yards on 26 carries with a 50% rushing success rate, their highest mark this season.
"We've gotta stay in this thing. We grind and we grind it out. This is what you do. You compete; this is what you signed up for. This is what you do," McDermott added. "The effort, the will the guys have, I don't question that one bit."
The Bills’ defense did get some second-half stops that helped to keep the offense in the game, and held Houston to ust two of 12 on third down with 261 total yards and an average of 4.7 yards per play.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThey struggled with missed tackles and penalties, however, and ultimately the Texans got the win.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills' Sean McDermott on QB hits: 'Not a healthy formula'
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