Buffalo Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins says he can barely live with how often Josh Allen was hit in the loss to the Houston Texans, admitting he might not sleep after his rough night in pass protection.
Houston’s defense dominated Buffalo in a 23–19 upset on Thursday night, sacking Allen a career-high eight times and hitting him 12 more. While Allen tried to shoulder the blame for the offense’s struggles, many fans focused their anger on the offensive line, with Dawkins drawing much of the criticism.
Speaking after the game, Dawkins said watching his quarterback repeatedly take big hits was brutal:
“It’s a tough night. Probably won’t be able to sleep. When I see the kid get hit and he’s rolling around on the ground, it’s a tough day for the boys,” he said, describing Allen as both a “little and big brother.”
“It sucks, man. I hate losing. We’re a good team, though. I think our best days are yet to come.”
Dawkins made several errors, but his worst moment came in the final seconds. With under 30 seconds left and the Bills facing fourth-and-one, he was flagged for a false start. On the very next play, Allen’s pass to Joshua Palmer was intercepted by Texans safety Calen Bullock, effectively ending the game.
“I’ve got to be better,” Dawkins admitted. “It happens time after time. 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 pride myself on being the best. It is what it is. It’s tough ball, man, but better days to come. It kind of feels like it’s the last game of the year, but it’s not.”
Despite the loss and the punishment Allen took, Dawkins pointed out how close Buffalo came to pulling off a comeback. On the final drive, Gabe Davis made a spectacular one-handed grab in the red zone but couldn’t get both feet down in bounds.
“You know, it goes without saying it’s a game of inches,” Dawkins said. “At the end of the game, Gabe caught a beautiful pass. If his feet were just a couple more inches the other way, the energy would be a little bit different. Even though those guys got to our quarterback, the energy would just be a little bit different. So it’s a game of inches. You would think it was a full game whooping, but it’s just football, man. Thursday night ball. Good on good. I respect those guys.”
Even after the setback, Buffalo sits at 7–4 and currently holds the No. 6 seed in the AFC, with their playoff chances still rated at around 86%. Dawkins insisted that, as painful as this night was, the Bills’ season – and their best football – is still in front of them.
About the Author
