The Bills and Texans put on a show on Sunday afternoon. There may not be many games this season that are better than the season opener in Houston.
Josh Allen, who was 0-4 in Houston, threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Josh Palmer with 1:36 remaining for a 36-31 lead and then had to watch from the bench as the Bills held on.
The Texans had first-and-goal at the Buffalo 9 with 25 seconds left, but Deone Walker sacked C.J. Stroud for a 9-yard loss. After an incompletion, Greg Rousseau had a strip-sack of Stroud that Terrell Bernard recovered with 9 ticks left to end it.
The back-and-forth game had nine lead changes.
Allen ripped apart the Texansâ vaunted defense, throwing for 334 yards and two touchdowns as the Bills had 409 total yards. He nearly threw his only interception on the play before the game-winner, but Kamari Lassiter, who had a rough day, dropped the pick in the end zone.
Tight end Dalton Kincaid caught five passes for 130 yards and DJ Moore had five catches for 100 yards and a touchdown in his Buffalo debut.
James Cook ran for 57 yards on 13 carries.
The Texans gained 381 yards, but Stroud had the only two turnovers. He also lost a fumble on a strip-sack by Rousseau in the first half. Stroud finished 26-of-38 for 274 yards and two touchdowns.
The Texans showcased their free agent acquisition, David Montgomery, as he had 20 carries for 60 yards and two touchdowns and three catches for 19 yards and a touchdown. The Texans had 32 rushes and 38 passes, held the ball for 36:17 and went 2-for-2 on fourth down.