After their frustrating 23-19 defeat to the Houston Texans, the Buffalo Bills are still trying to shake off their offensive performance. Without their receiver Keon Coleman, the Bills’ offense clearly has not played to its potential.

Now, whether Coleman plays the Week 13 game remains a question, especially after Buffalo brought in veteran Brandin Cooks, QB Josh Allen delivered one pointed but telling message in regards to the future of Coleman.

Allen’s comments married reassurance with expectation, a nod both to the standard the Bills will expect and the support they intend to provide. With a dangerous Steelers pass rush on deck, the margin for error will be shrinking fast in Buffalo.

“Yeah, we got to take it one day at a time,” Allen made his belief in Coleman crystal clear, after the receiver’s two rough stretches on the sidelines.

“He’s [Keon Coleman] got to take it one day at a time and making sure we’re doing everything possible to be ready for whenever that time is. I haven’t lost any faith in him. I have a lot of work, a lot comfortableness with him, and whenever that time is for him, he’ll be ready.”

During the Texans’ game, Allen took a career-worst eight sacks. All in all, it was a performance that put even greater focus on the Bills’ protection issues and, thus, the personnel decisions made around their receiving group.

At 7-4, with the AFC East all but out of reach behind a 10-2 New England, avoiding self-inflicted mistakes will be in large part the key to any Buffalo playoff hopes. And so, every inactive player, every missed assignment, and every pass catcher affects the end result.

On the other hand, things are not very pleasant for Coleman; he was benched during Week 11 because he showed up late to a team meeting.

“We would have loved to have him out there. The way that rosters work is how it works sometimes,” Josh Allen said while adding roster decisions were out of his hands. Asked what message he conveyed to Coleman as a leader.

”Just continue to keep working hard. Control what he can control,” he concluded.

Moving forward, the Bills have a very tough challenge in Week 13, as they face the Steelers. Pittsburgh is ranked fifth in the league in sacks. That presents a serious challenge to a Bills team whose tackles are banged up and whose rhythm has been erratic on the road. Success in this matchup will require discipline in protection, sharp communication, and cleaner execution, areas that faltered in Houston.

The Bills strengthen their WR room

The Bills added some veteran reliability to their receiving corps, signing Brandin Cooks to the active roster after releasing Elijah Moore. After clearing waivers following his departure from the New Orleans Saints, Cooks brings production and experience to a team seeking steadiness. The veteran made little secret about what drew him to Buffalo.

”The opportunity to be able to play with Josh [Allen] is, I mean, you can’t pass up the opportunity,” Cooks said.

Cooks’ arrival comes at a time when the Bills haven’t had a true, top-tier statistical producer in the passing game. Buffalo is well on its way to finishing a second straight season without a 1,000-yard receiver.

Cooks, who possesses nearly 10,000 yards and 60 career touchdowns, fits that description. To Keon Coleman, the message is: The team wants him to develop, but the competition won’t stop. Cooks ups the ante inside the receiver room, and drives home a point that opportunity needs to be earned, and then protected via prep and pros.

On a playoff chase as tight as this one, Buffalo has no time to wait for anyone to get up to speed.