In the loss to the Texans, the Bills were clearly missing a player like Stefon Diggs

HOUSTON – Stefon Diggs stepped in front of his locker and waited for his every word amid a bevy of lights and cameras.

But this Diggs was a little different than the one who usually sat in front of a microphone in Orchard Park. In so many previous interviews as a member of the Bills, his voice sounded full of confidence and authority, usually booming.

But after successfully grinding out a 23-20 victory in a game that had been building around him, Diggs' voice had a slight tremor to it. The former Bills-to-Texans receiver was beaming from ear to ear and enjoying every second.

Diggs, like many others in the Bills organization, said all week that it was just another game. Finally it was time to reveal his truth.

“Honestly, it meant a lot to me,” Diggs finally admitted. “I kept it up energetically all week, trying not to push it too high. Apparently we had an interview earlier in the week. I just tried to keep it professional, but in the back of my mind it obviously meant a lot to me and I wanted to show more than tell.”

The failure of Diggs' time in Buffalo is now well-documented, but it remained a unique moment for Diggs and the Bills franchise that became a clichéd fork in the road.

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The Bills decided to trade him when they could have kept him for another run toward a Super Bowl. But they accepted an offer they liked and changed the direction of both parties. A fresh start was probably necessary for both of them, but it remained a decision to take away the defining receiver of his career from Josh Allen.

Diggs kept the truth serum flowing.

“I can’t say I wasn’t thinking about that game when I got traded,” Diggs said. “I was wondering if we were going to play them and then of course it was on the schedule, but I'm taking it game by game. And when it came to that game, I knew I was just trying to take advantage of it and get a win for my team. But of course it’s emotional.”

And it wasn't like Diggs was just a spectator at the game. He managed six catches for 82 yards, including two clutch third-down receptions that yielded double-digit yards as the Bills couldn't get out of each other's way in the passing game.

The irony is as thick as the morning fog on a drive through the mountains.

Diggs had more receptions and yardage than the entire Bills receiver corps. The lineup of Keon Coleman, Mack Hollins, Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Tyrell Shavers had a paltry four receptions for 76 yards.

Stefon Diggs admitted his first game against Buffalo since joining Houston was emotional. (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)

“I'm not going to sit here and act like it's normal. It meant a lot to me,” Diggs said. “And it was reassuring that the guys around me knew it meant a lot to me. Even though I haven't said it because I try to keep my composure and treat every week like it's the same thing. But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t mean a lot to me.”

Diggs continually praised the Bills as a well-coached and good team with a great quarterback and emphasized that they could see the Bills in the future. However, this chapter of the Bills' history with their old receiver is over for now.

But for the Bills to get to the future showdown, they have to clean up some things on offense. The Bills went from the “everybody eats” mantra of the passing attack to whatever snarky pun you like best.

Even the Texans got in on the action.

EVERYONE EATS 😤 pic.twitter.com/5Hepsi1otf

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 6, 2024

The Bills were almost poetic without Khalil Shakir, their top receiver. That left the Bills without a single player to catch a regular season pass from Allen in 2023. And those receivers didn't contribute much Sunday, even as a weakened Bills defense gave them chance after chance to take control of the game.

It wasn't entirely the receivers' fault, but they were an important piece of the puzzle. Allen set a career low in completion percentage in a single game. His 9-of-30 afternoon resulted in a 30 percent completion rate. The only game in Allen's career that came close was his NFL debut in mop-up duty for Nathan Peterman during a 47-3 loss to the Ravens in 2018, where he shot 40 percent.

The Bills had more incompletions (21) than points scored. After the game, Bills coach Sean McDermott said there was a little too much downfield throwing in his first pre-film reading about the passing issues.

But even the fact that throwing deeper downfield while using a quarterback with a gun for an arm was a problem begs a whole other discussion. And one that the Bills successfully masked earlier this year.

As much as they wanted to believe and prove that the collective was greater than the sum of the individuals, that hope has become a chasm in their journey to becoming one of the league's most dynamic offenses.

Without Shakir, there is no downfield separation among their top wideouts. They continue to give away empty snaps and targets to players who wouldn't get more than a handful of snaps in other NFL cities.

It's telling that no one was around while Allen kept a play alive, scanning the entire field for someone to jump up. And Allen tried, as he often does in certain moments, to transfer the problem across his body to several defenders and almost got shot down in the process.

On that 3rd-and-10 play at the end of the first half, the Bills entered the game with Hollins, Valdes-Scantling, Samuel and tight end Dawson Knox, who among them entered the contest with 17 catches and 150 yards in four plays. For comparison: Shakir alone had 19 for 230.

Hollins' massive role in the offense has become somewhat confusing. He came into the game on Sunday as the Bills' offensive lineman and extended that lead to all players not named Keon Coleman. Hollins is a great blocker, although converting just three balls out of twelve goals in the last two weeks is not enough to be immune to a role change.

Samuel managed exactly one catch without gaining a single yard, despite Shakir being removed from the game on Sunday to give him his most significant role of the season. Samuel has been a disappointment in free agent signings so far.

Valdes-Scantling gets snaps by default as a group needs a spark, but has only managed a reception on 3.5 percent of his routes run this season.

Coleman had some nice moments as a rookie, taking advantage of a cornerback gaffe to convert a fourth down into a touchdown. This cannot be pushed aside. His ability to win in tough situations has become something of a crutch for Allen when they need a spark.

But Coleman still struggles to consistently separate beyond the 10-yard mark. You need someone to support him instead of relying solely on him in difficult moments.

Fourth down ➡️ TOUCHDOWN!

📺: @paramountplus pic.twitter.com/MwDCDzfUPS

– Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) October 6, 2024

To put it bluntly, they could have used someone like Diggs in a big AFC showdown. And from here until the trade deadline and likely beyond, it should remain a focus for general manager Brandon Beane and the Bills organization.

To be clear, there were plenty of other issues besides receivers or passing output that led to the Bills losing to the Texans.

They need more of McDermott to strategize on the fly and execute end-of-game scenarios. It's also annoying to see offensive coordinator Joe Brady slack off with some moments of overthinking in a big game. Then there's the defense, which eclipsed the offense in the first quarter after allowing five straight plays of 10 or more yards – two of which turned into touchdowns.

The Bills can assign a lot of blame. But the Bills have one thing on their side that most other teams don't: an elite quarterback in Josh Allen.

This is the ultimate tool for overcoming almost any adversity in today's NFL. However, Allen still needs more help around him. In the meantime, the team needs to isolate what works from a personnel standpoint to give the Bills a fighting chance.

While it's great in theory to have multiple receivers getting a ton of snaps to keep everyone sharp, it comes at the expense of constantly putting their best assets on the field. The bigger idea, however, is that Allen and the Bills need a third receiver to help them get back to the dynamic passing attack they used to be.

They have the quarterback, the running game and, most weeks, the best offensive line the Bills have had since Allen arrived in Buffalo. But somehow, with the AFC East only holding a one-game lead over the Jets and Dolphins, the Bills don't have time to deal with it.

The Bills felt it was time to trade to move Diggs this offseason, which is probably the right decision in the long run. Still, with a struggling group of receivers, it's time to make tangible changes to the structure of their receiving corps.

(Top photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)