Buffalo Bills Beat Houston Texans 36-31: Instant Reactions

It was expected to be a defensive struggle, but it turned into a track meet. And for the first time since 2006, the Buffalo Bills have beaten the Houston Texans in Houston, winning 36-31.

The win moves the Bills to 1-0 and ties them for first in the AFC East. Yes, it's only one game, but wins like this will matter come December.

Here are the positives and negatives from Buffalo's win over Houston.

Joshua Patrick Allen: What else can be said about the 2024 NFL MVP? Allen finished 20-of-29 for 334 yards and two passing touchdowns. On the ground, Allen had 23 yards and two touchdowns. 

DJ Moore: The Bills couldn’t have asked for a better debut for new number one receiver DJ Moore. Though things started slow for the 29-year-old, that quickly changed in the second quarter. Moore finished with 5 catches for 100 yards and a touchdown.

Greg Rousseau: I expected big things from Rousseau this season, and he looked like a player ready to take that next step. Rousseau finished with four tackles, four sacks, two forced fumbles, a pass defended, and five QB hits.

Tyler Bass: There were a lot of questions about the reliability of Bass after he missed all of 2025. In his first regular-season game since 2024, Bass was perfect. He finished 3-for-3 on field goals, with kicks of 46, 34, and 33 yards. He also went 3-for-3 on extra points.

Offensive play calling: Though there was a lot left on the table on Sunday, the playcalling for Joe Brady’s first game as head coach was a steady mix of downfield attacks and short-yardage plays. The offense showed no fear, and it paid off in more than a few ways. They finished with 36 points and 409 yards of offense.

Dalton Kincaid: I’ve gone on record saying that if the Bills are going to make a Super Bowl run, Dalton Kincaid needs to have a big year. So, what did he do for Week 1? Just have the best game of his career. Kincaid finished with 5 catches for 130 yards. 

The Final Bills Drive: Want to know what being a Bills fan is like? Watch that final drive. Starting at the four-yard line, Buffalo drove down the field to take a lead with 1:36 to play. However, before Allen threw the 34-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer, he made a terrible decision that ended up resulting in a sure interception dropped by the Texans. The next play, Allen made Houston pay for not capitalizing. 

Penalties: We knew there was a chance for a lot of penalties with the officiating crew, but the Bills did themselves no favors. Ten penalties for 85 yards, including multiple that kept Houston drives alive on third down. There were also two penalties against Buffalo that the Texans chose not to accept. 

Third-down defense: The more things change, the more they stay the same. One of Buffalo’s biggest problems over the years was failure to get off the field on third down. That continued on Sunday. The Bills gave up multiple third-and-long conversions to Houston. It got better in the second half with Houston finishing 7/16 on third, but it’s something that has to be cleaned up ahead of Thursday.

Christian Benford: Buffalo’s top cornerback looked anything but for most of the afternoon. He followed Nico Collins much of the day, but when he was targeted, he was often out of position. 

James Cook: The Bills were 8-1 last season when James Cook rushed for at least 100 yards. He didn’t come close to that against Houston. The NFL’s leading rusher in 2025 was held to just 57 yards on 13 carries, with a fumble that was recovered by the Bills. He did add 3 catches for 12 yards. 

Bills defense: A big reason for the Bills moving on from Sean McDermott was the lack of ability to close out games. Far too often did the Bills have a chance to turn the game, but, instead, they gave up the big play. Even on Houston’s final drive of the game, Buffalo kept them alive with open receivers and penalties. 

Bills defense: While they held on for the win and made a play at the end, it was a game that showed the Bills have a lot of work to do on defense if they want to be a contender this year.

The Bills have their home opener on Thursday night against the Detroit Lions. That game will air on Amazon Prime and locally on WKBW in Buffalo.