Game Recap

Presented by

Bills 36, Texans 31 | Final score, game highlights, key stats | Week 1

Sep 13, 2026 at 05:03 PM

Mike Maynard

Seasonal Writing Associate

Location: Reliant Stadium

Final score: Bills 36 Texans 31

Records: Bills (1-0), Texans (0-1)

Next opponent: Bills vs. Lions Thursday, Sept. 17 at 8:15 p.m. EST

Buffalo traveled down to Houston and defeated the Texans on the road, 36-31, for the first time since 2006. The offense was consistent all game, with the defense coming through on the final drive of the game to start the season off in the win column.

Game Recap

The Bills needed a big drive, down 31-30 with 3:13 left in the fourth quarter, backed up at their own four-yard line. TE Dalton Kincaid kicked things off with a chunk play, finding open space on the right side for a 35-yard reception.

Two plays later, QB Josh Allen sent a strike over the middle of the field, catching WR Joshua Palmer perfectly in stride. The 34-yard touchdown catch was Palmer's lone grab of the day, coming in the biggest moment.

Houston got the ball back with 1:36 on the clock, down 36-31. Jim Leonhard's defense bent but didn't break, allowing the Texans down to the nine-yard line. DL Deone Walker came through on a first-down pass attempt, swimming his way into the backfield for a huge sack that lost nine yards.

OLB Greg Rousseau showed up on third down with just 16 seconds on the clock, bursting around the right edge and getting to the quarterback as well. Using his length, Rousseau forced the ball out of QB CJ Stroud's hands, with LB Terrel Bernard diving on it to secure the victory.

Rousseau had a big game to start the year for Buffalo, tallying another sack to cap off the first defensive drive of the game, as well as the last. The 26-year-old forcefully made his way around the edge in the first quarter, forcing a fumble from behind that DL Ed Oliver pounced on.

The Bills offense got going in the second quarter, with Allen taking matters into his own hands. He found WR Khalil Shakir twice for 35 yards on the first drive of the quarter. He later capped it off by scrambling to his right, finding open space and taking it himself, barreling into the end zone for a 21-yard rushing touchdown.

WR DJ Moore was quiet throughout the first quarter and a half of the day, finding a spark at the end of the second. With under five minutes to go before the break, Allen found his No. 1 receiver for an 18-yard gain over the middle.

On the next play, Moore showed off his ability to stretch the field, burning past defenders toward the back left pylon. Allen lofted a ball to the 29-year-old, with Texans CB Kamari Lassiter getting there a little too early, earning himself a pass interference and placing the ball at the one-yard line.

Allen tallied his second rushing touchdown of the day, punching it in from the one by taking a quarterback sneak up the middle of the defense.

Getting the ball with just over two minutes before the end of the first half, Allen and the Bills set out on an impressive two-minute drill. It began with a 38-yard acrobatic catch by Kincaid near the right sideline.

After the two-minute warning, Allen found Moore over the middle for 15 yards, targeting him again on the next play. The quarterback took a chance on a hole shot up the right sideline, sneaking the pass in right before a defender could get in the way. Moore made the catch with nothing but green in front of him, scampering in for a 43-yard touchdown.

Moore showed out in his first game with the Bills, tallying 100 yards on five catches along with the touchdown. Kincaid led the team with 130 yards on five catches in the win, helping set up two touchdowns in the process.

Allen finished his day 20-of-29 passing, putting up 334 passing yards and two touchdowns through the air. The gunslinger added on 23 rushing yards on six attempts, finding the end zone twice with his legs.

The Texans were the first team to reach the end zone on Sunday, putting together a 12-play, 76-yard drive. Stroud found WR Nico Collins on a corner route by the right sideline on a third-and-eight for 25 yards, setting up a one-yard rushing touchdown for RB David Montgomery.

After taking up seven minutes on their first scoring drive, Houston got the ball back and again got to work grinding its way down the field. A brutal holding penalty on third and nine for Buffalo extended the eight-minute drive, with Montgomery taking the following play into the end zone untouched from 18 yards out.

Montgomery wasn't done there, capping off a 13-play, 72-yard drive at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Off a fake touch pass to the left side from the seven-yard line, Montgomery snuck out of the backfield the other direction, catching a wide-open touchdown for his third score of the game.