The Houston Texans, backed by their defense and eight catches on Josh Allen, defeated the Buffalo Bills 23-19 on Thursday in the NFL’s Week 12 opener.
The win allows the Texans to keep their playoff chances by accumulating six wins and five losses. Buffalo falls behind in the fight for the top spot in the American Conference East division, with a 7-4 record, 9-2 behind leader New England.
Bills strike first; Texans respond
Allen’s eight catches were the most in his eight-year career.
He finished the game with 262 yards and two interceptions.
The Texans were without CJ Stroud, their starting quarterback, who is in concussion protocol.
He was replaced by David Mills, who passed for 153 yards and two touchdowns.
In a first half of several turnovers the Bills struck first on the strength of their ground attack.
James Cook escaped 47 yards to the diagonals to take a 0-6 lead on Matt Prater’s missed extra point.
The Texans responded with a 24-yard field goal converted by Ka’imi Fairbairn to bring them within 3-6.
Texans and Bills exchange command
Buffalo pulled away 3-9 early in the second quarter with a three-point kick.
The Texans responded with a 77-yard scoring drive capped by a touchdown toss to Christian Kirk, which turned the score 9-10.
And it extended to 9-13 with another 43-yard field goal by Fairbairn less than two minutes before halftime.
Special teams put Buffalo back in command 13-16 with a spectacular 97-yard kickoff return by Ray Davis.
Coach DeMeco Ryans’ team did not give up and with five seconds left in the first half David Mills found Jayden Higgins in the painted area to retake the lead 20-16.
Dominate and suffocate Josh Allen
The Houston Texans’ defense was a wall in the third period, although their offense could only extend the score 23-16 with a field goal.
At the close, Buffalo only got as close as 23-19 with a field goal due to the harassment Josh Allen was subjected to by opposing linemen.
He was caught eight times and limited to 19 points.
Week 12 will continue this Sunday with 12 games, including the visit of the champion Philadelphia Eagles to the Dallas Cowboys and the clash between the Rams and the Buccaneers.
With information from EFE
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