Josh Allen explains viral 'What are we doing?' moment in Bills' loss to Texans

After James Cook was stuffed for a two-yard loss on a fourth-and-1 conversion attempt during the Buffalo Bills’ first drive of the fourth quarter on Thursday night, Josh Allen was noticeably annoyed.

As he jogged to the Bills’ sideline and found a spot on the bench beside backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky, Allen uttered the words, “What are we doing?” His exasperation was clearly visible Prime Video Broadcast.

There was good reason for Allen’s despair, as the Bills were amid a putrid performance offensively and, at the time, trailed the Houston Texans 23-16 with 10 minutes 9 seconds remaining. After the game, Allen was asked to reveal the source of his obvious irritation.

“Just frustration on my part,” he said. "In a situation like that, probably should have just banged a timeout. We got the play in late and didn’t give ourselves a chance there.”

Josh Allen on sequence before uttering “what are we doing” on sideline, as seen on the broadcast: “Just frustration on my part. In a situation like that, probably should’ve banged a timeout. We got the play in late and didn’t give ourselves a chance there.”

Shot at Joe Brady? pic.twitter.com/lsZt4isbVB
— alex brasky (@alexbrasky) November 21, 2025

Reading between the lines, that sure could be perceivedas a shot at Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, whose unit struggled mightily on Thursday night. The Bills were disjointed throughout the evening, finishing with their second-lowest yardage output of the season (326) while allowing quarterback Josh Allen to be sacked a career-high eight times and pressured an astounding 28 times.

“It’s not fun,” said Allen of being under duress so often against the Texans.

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Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans defensive tackle Tim Settle Jr. (98) sacks Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) in the second half at NRG Stadium. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

After helping guide the Bills’ quarterback to an MVP campaign a season ago, Brady has been under fire throughout the 2025 campaign, one that has produced varying results for the Buffalo offense. The Bills’ attack has been as inconsistent as any team in the league this season, averaging 35 points per game during the team’s seven wins and just 16.5 points per game during its four defeats.

At the outset of the season, Brady was a prime head-coaching candidate, receiving high praise from Bills fans and football pundits alike. However, as the 2025 campaign has worn on, he has fallen out of favor in the public eye while being blamed for many of the Bills’ inefficiencies offensively.

Publicly, Allen and Sean McDermott have expressed their support for the Buffalo OC. But there is no telling what kinds of discussions are going on behind closed doors, or whether or not Brady is indeed as safe in his position as the Bills' head coach and quarterback have made it seem in recent weeks.

With frustrations continuing to build week after week, we could be looking at an offseason divorce between the Bills and their offensive play-caller after all.

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