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09/13 17:17 CDT Josh Allen connects with Joshua Palmer for a late TD and Bills
beat Texans 36-31 in wild opener
Josh Allen connects with Joshua Palmer for a late TD and Bills beat Texans
36-31 in wild opener
By KRISTIE RIEKEN
AP Sports Writer
HOUSTON (AP) --- Josh Allen didn't wait for the question he knew was coming on
Sunday after finally leading the Buffalo Bills to a road win over the Houston
Texans in a season-opening thriller.
"We do like Reliant Stadium," he said with a big smile. "Woo."
Allen threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer with 1:36 remaining to
lift the Bills to a 36-31 victory in a back-and-forth game.
Allen had 334 yards passing with two touchdowns and ran for two more scores
after losing his previous four games at Reliant Stadium.
"It feels good to start the season off right," Allen said.
It was the Bills' first win at Houston since Nov. 19, 2006.
The Texans led 31-30 when Allen split two defenders to find Palmer. The 2-point
conversion failed.
One play earlier, Houston's Kamari Lassiter got his hands on a pass from Allen
in the end zone but couldn't grab the interception.
"We got lucky," Palmer said. "He dropped it. Next play I caught it."
The Texans had a chance to win in the closing seconds, but Greg Rousseau had
his second strip-sack of the day, taking down C.J. Stroud at the Buffalo 28.
Terrel Bernard recovered to seal the victory.
It was a disappointing outing for Houston's vaunted defense, which led the NFL
in yards allowed and ranked second in points allowed last season.
"We had multiple opportunities to make plays, had chances to make plays on the
football and we didn't make plays," Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said.
Houston allowed its most points since a 36-22 loss to Cleveland on Dec. 24,
2003.
"We've got to do a better job, especially closing out the game," defensive end
Will Anderson said. "It just wasn't our standard. That's not who we are. That's
not who we want to be as a defense. "
Dalton Kincaid had five receptions for 130 yards and DJ Moore had five catches
for 100 yards and a touchdown in his Buffalo debut after a trade from Chicago.
Buffalo's Joe Brady started his head coaching career with a win after he was
promoted from offensive coordinator following Sean McDermott's firing after
nine seasons.
"You saw a lot of the conviction, everything we sort of talk about," Brady
said. "We didn't care how pretty. There's no such thing as an ugly win."
David Montgomery, who was traded from Detroit this offseason, had a three-TD
day in his Houston debut. He had scoring runs of 1 and 18 yards in the first
half and his 7-yard touchdown reception put Houston up 28-27 early in the
fourth.
Stroud threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns but lost two fumbles.
Tyler Bass' 33-yard field goal made it 30-28 Buffalo with 10 1/2 minutes to go.
Ka'imi Fairbairn's 58-yard field goal put Houston back ahead with about seven
minutes remaining before Allen's game-winning drive.
Buffalo went up 10-7 when Allen scrambled for a 21-yard touchdown early in the
second quarter.
Montgomery's second score came when he scampered 18 yards untouched to make it
14-10 with about five minutes left in the first half.
Lassiter was flagged for pass interference on Moore in the end zone to give the
Bills the ball on the 1 on their next drive. Allen's scoring dive two plays
later put Buffalo up 17-14.
Moore grabbed a ball in front of a diving Reed Blankenship and dashed 43 yards
to the end zone later in the second to push the lead to 24-14.
A 12-yard touchdown reception by Nico Collins cut the lead to three at halftime.
Rousseau sacked Stroud on Houston's first drive, causing a fumble that Ed
Oliver recovered on the Houston 32. That led to Bass' 46-yard field goal.
A 1-yard run by Montgomery put the Texans up 7-3 near the end of the first
quarter. The score was set up by a 25-yard reception by Collins three plays
earlier.
Bills' receiving duo puts up big numbers Moore and Kincaid gave the Bills just the second game in franchise history where a tight end and a receiver both had 100 yards receiving. The first time it happened was when Andre Reed had 144 yards receiving and Pete Metzelaars added 122 in Week 2 of the 1992 season. Brady raved about what Moore brings to the team. "He opens it up for everybody," Brady said. "He opens it up for Dalton Kincaid, for the run game and James Cook. He opens it up for Keon Coleman... and Josh Palmer. And then on big-play opportunities, he made them. We're so much better with him." Injuries Houston LB Jake Hummel left in the second half with an abdominal injury. Up next Bills: Host Detroit on Thursday night in their first game at their new stadium. Texans: Host Cincinnati next Sunday. ___ See AP's full NFL coverage here |
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