HOUSTON — Dion Dawkins stood in front of his locker stall late Thursday night without many answers following a physical beatdown at the hands of the Houston Texans.
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen was sacked a career-high eight times and was hit on 12 of his 34 drop-backs in a stunning 23-19 upset loss.
Even though Buffalo went four straight drives without points in the second half, Allen got the ball back with just three minutes left with a chance to win the game. The Bills converted a wild 4th and 27 on a hook and ladder pitch play to stay alive.
Then, on 4th and 1 from Houston’s 17-yard line with just under a minute left, Dawkins jumped early. The penalty pushed Buffalo back five yards and forced the Bills into a passing situation. Allen went back to pass and had to get rid of the ball with more pressure in his face. The Texans intercepted the pass to end the game.
The false start penalties continue to add up for Dawkins. He leads the NFL with the most false starts on the season with seven. The Bills’ other four starting offensive linemen have combined for just one.
“I gotta be better for sure,” Dawkins said. “It happens time after time. It’s hard. It’s hard to play offensive line. It’s hard to be at your best at all times. Stadiums like this--it’s loud. There’s no excuse, I gotta be better in times like that when I pride myself on being the best.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Buffalo Bills - NFL 2025
Dion Dawkins #73 of the Buffalo Bills leads the NFL with seven false start penalties in 2025. His early jump late in the fourth quarter hurt the Bills in their fourth loss of the season. (Photo by Bryan Bennett/Getty Images)Getty Images
Penalties aside, the Bills’ offensive line folded against a Texans defensive line that kept Allen in a constant state of pressure. He was pressured on 14 drop-backs, and he completed just one pass for 24 yards on those plays.
Looking across the aisle in the locker room, Dawkins shook his head when asked about how it felt to watch Allen sacked and hit so many times in the game.
“It’ll be a tough night,” Dawkins said. “Probably won’t be able to sleep. When I see the kid get hit and he rolls around all hurt like that, it’s a tough day for the boys. That’s our little big brother and it sucks.”
Bills coach Sean McDermott was unhappy with his team’s inability to protect Allen in the game. The Bills couldn’t stay out of 3rd and long in the second half. Allen was sacked three times in the second half on third down. According to ESPN’s Ben Solak, Allen’s 14.8% sack rate on third down in 2025 is by far the highest of his career. The previous high was 11.9% in 2019 and he was only sacked 4.4% on third down last season.
“When you’re not winning first down and you get into second down and long, that’s (when your offense) becomes predictable,” McDermott said. “And then their d-line pins their ears back and they go. They’re built that way for a reason. Then that’s where the hits come in terms of second down and long and third down and long. That’s the unhealthy formula I’m talking about where Josh takes too many hits. We’ve gotta figure that piece out.”
A trend has formed for a Bills team that built its offensive reputation last season on the strength of its offensive line. In games where Buffalo has allowed more than 25 quarterback pressures this season, the Bills are 0-4. The Texans generated 28 quarterback pressures against Buffalo, tying the most allowed in a game this season.
The Bills still entered Thursday’s game as the league’s best pass-protecting offensive line, according to Ben Baldwin’s pass blocking composite power rankings. The Bills scored top marks in ESPN, Sports Info Solutions, and Pro Football Focus metrics. Against a Texans pass rush that featured arguably the league’s best pass rusher in Will Anderson, Buffalo’s line couldn’t hold up. Anderson finished with a team-high nine pressures and 2.5 sacks. In run and chase situations, Anderson spent a total of 14.0 seconds pressuring Allen. That’s the most in a game by a NFL player over the past four seasons.
Allen wasn’t perfect. He put a few of the sacks on himself. Allen has been sacked 20 times this season on 308 dropbacks (6.5%) compared to just 14 times in 2024 on 537 dropbacks (2.6%), per ESPN. Allen simply isn’t throwing the ball away enough. In 2024, he threw it away 24 times, compared to just 6 so far this season.
“It’s not fun. I ran into a couple myself,” he said. “I gotta be better throwing the ball away and living to see another down and letting us play some situational football and pinning them deep. Too many times I was going backwards and I have to do better on that.”
Dawkins expects the Bills to lick their wounds and come back stronger after a mini-bye that gives the team 10 days off before their next game.
“You would think it was a full game butt whooping but it’s just football, man,” he said. “Thursday night ball, good on good. I respect those guys. They played well. ... . I hate losing but we’re a good team, though. I think our best days are yet to come.”
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