Bills open 2026 with late win over Texans

Houston, Texas (WGR) - It has been nearly 20 years in the making, but the Buffalo Bills have finally come out of the "Space City" with a win.

For the first time since Nov. 19, 2006, the Bills go to Houston and earn a victory over the Texans, and this win comes in style to open the 2026 regular season with a late 36-31 victory at Reliant Stadium.

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The Bills received the opening kickoff of the season, and the offense seemed a bit discombobulated after a few good run plays from running back James Cook. Houston’s defense was able to close in, and came up with a huge fourth-down stop of the Buffalo offense after a designed quarterback run for Josh Allen was stopped short of the sticks.

The Buffalo defense was ready from the start, and veteran pass rusher Greg Rousseau came up big with a strip sack of Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. After defensive tackle Ed Oliver recovered the football, the Bills began their next offensive drive with prime field position at the Texans' 32-yard line.

After getting to a 4th-and-1 situation at the Houston 23-yard line, a costly penalty for too many men in the huddle backed the Bills up five yards, resulting in a 46-yard field goal from kicker Tyler Bass to put the first points on the board for the Bills this season.

The Texans offense responded in tow, marching right down the field and finding the end zone to grab Houston's first lead of the game. A 12-play drive ended with a one-yard touchdown run from Texans newcomer David Montgomery.

It took the Bills just six plays to go back down the other way and reclaim the lead, courtesy of their star quarterback. Allen was able to escape some pressure, find wide-open space in the middle of the field and power his way into the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown to give the Bills a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter.

As the Bills made quick work on offense, the Texans continued their game plan of long, methodical drives to find success offensively, and it worked once again to re-claim the lead. This time, Montgomery finished off a 13-play drive that chewed nearly eight minutes of game clock with an 18-yard touchdown run through the middle of the Buffalo defense.

Allen and the Bills answered right back just 49 seconds later. After a deep pass down the field to wide receiver D.J. Moore drew a pass interference call, Allen was able to get some help from behind on a 1-yard run up the middle for the go-ahead score with 3:59 to go in the first half.

The NFL's all-time leader in rushing touchdowns among quarterbacks notched his 80th and 81st career rushing touchdowns, now slotting him in the top-20 of all-time rushing touchdowns among any player in NFL history.

After the defense managed to force a three-and-out and a Texans punt, the Bills found the end zone once again shortly after the two-minute warning.

After opening the drive with a 38-yard pass to tight end Dalton Kincaid out of his own end zone, Allen then completed a 15-yard pass to Moore, followed by another toss to Moore, this time for 43 yards and a touchdown. It was the first score for Moore in his first game with the Bills since being acquired by the team this offseason from the Chicago Bears.

Houston wasn’t gonna go down without a fight to close the half, though. Stroud went on to shred the Bills defense with time ticking down on the clock, and capped the drive off of a 12-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Nico Collins.

That made it a three-point contest, 24-21, heading into halftime in Houston.

Scoring came to a halt for most of the third quarter, as the Texans and Bills exchanged some punts before Buffalo finally got back on the board after pinning Houston deep in its own territory.

Despite a drive only spanning 27 yards with less than five minutes remaining in the quarter, it put the Bills in just enough range for Bass to tack on three more points with a 34-yard field goal to extend the Buffalo lead to 27-21.

Another long Texans drive bled into the fourth quarter, and resulted in another touchdown from Montgomery, his third of the game. This time, it came on the receiving end of a 7-yard pass from Stroud to put the Texans up, 28-27.

The lead did not last long, though, as the Bills filed their way back down the field and into Houston territory once more. While the Bills could not find the end zone, it was Bass staying perfect on the day with a 33-yard field goal to put Buffalo back up by a pair, 30-28.

Houston went back to work to get into scoring position, but unlike drives before, the Texans were forced to settle for a massive 58-yard field goal from kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn to re-claim the lead, 31-30, with 6:44 remaining.

It was a nail-biter down to the finish, as the Bills and Texans exchanged punts, setting Buffalo up for one last push to grab a go-ahead score with time running out.

With the clock bleeding past the two-minute warning, the Bills managed to get back into, at least, field goal range and a chance to re-capture the advantage. However, Allen was looking for more under center.

With 1:36 left, the Bills quarterback fired a strike to wide receiver Joshua Palmer in stride, putting him in position to waltz into the end zone from 34 yards out for the touchdown. A missed two-point conversion attempt allowed Houston a chance to score a touchdown and steal a late win from the Bills.

Houston made the Bills sweat with time dwindling down, as Stroud and the Texans made it into the Buffalo red zone with about 30 seconds left in the game.

However, the defense put the exclamation mark on this game with a sack from defensive tackle Deone Walker, followed by another strip-sack from Rousseau with 16 seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Bills. Linebacker Terrel Bernard was able to recover the football following the sack to help Joe Brady earn a win in his first game as head coach of the Bills.

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SCORING RECAP:

First Quarter:

- 3-0 BUFFALO: Bills field goal (7:28) - Tyler Bass’ 46-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 4 plays, 4 yards, 2:04

- 7-3 HOUSTON: Texans touchdown (00:32) - David Montgomery rushes up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown. (Ka’imi Fairbairn’s extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 12 plays, 76 yards, 6:56

Second Quarter:

- 10-7 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (12:46) - Josh Allen escapes pressure and scampers for a 21-yard touchdown run. (Tyler Bass’ extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 6 plays, 62 yards, 2:46

- 14-10 HOUSTON: Texans touchdown (4:48) - David Montgomery finds a hole and goes 18 yards untouched for a touchdown run. (Ka’imi Fairbairn’s extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 13 plays, 75 yards, 7:58

- 17-14 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (3:59) - Josh Allen rushes up the middle for a 1-yard touchdown run. (Tyler Bass’ extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 3 plays, 65 yards, 0:49

- 24-14 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (0:41) - Josh Allen fires a long strike to D.J. Moore for a 43-yard touchdown. (Tyler Bass’ extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 3 plays, 96 yards, 0:41

- 24-21 BUFFALO: Texans touchdown (0:26) - C.J. Stroud tosses a strike down the middle to Nico Collins for a 12-yard touchdown. (Ka’imi Fairbairn’s extra point attempt is good)
Drive info: 4 plays, 86 yards, 1:03

Third Quarter:

- 27-21 BUFFALO: Bills field goal (4:24) - Tyler Bass’ 34-yard field goal attempt is good.
Drive info: 6 plays, 27 yards, 3:34

Fourth Quarter:

- 28-27 HOUSTON: Texans touchdown (13:34) - C.J. Stroud passes short to David Montgomery for a 7-yard touchdown. (Kaimi Fairbairn’s extra point attempt is good)

Drive info: 13 plays, 72 yards, 5:50

- 30-28 BUFFALO: Bills field goal (10:31) - Tyler Bass’ 33-yard field goal attempt is good.

Drive info: 7 plays, 52 yards, 3:03

- 31-30 HOUSTON: Texans field goal (6:44) - Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 58-yard field goal attempt is good.

Drive info: 7 plays, 26 yards, 3:47

- 36-31 BUFFALO: Bills touchdown (3:13) - Josh Allen connects with Joshua Palmer for a 34-yard touchdown pass. (Buffalo's two-point conversion attempt is unsuccessful)
Drive info: 7 plays, 96 yards, 1:37

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STATS OF THE GAME:

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What's next:

The Bills return to Orchard Park for their home opener against the Detroit Lions, the first game at the new Highmark Stadium, on "Thursday Night Football". Kickoff is slated for 8:15 p.m.