For the second week in a row, the Houston Texans looked vulnerable. The Buffalo Bills had just tied the game at 20-20 after mounting a 17-point comeback, and three minutes and 18 seconds remained in the fourth quarter.
But, for the second week in a row, the Texans buckled down and pulled out a win. Kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn continued his stellar season by hitting a 59-yard field goal with two seconds remaining on the clock, and the Texans' 23-20 win moved them to 4-1 on the season.
"We're a resilient team," Fairbairn said postgame. "We work hard."
Houston is the only team in the AFC South above .500; the Colts are in second place with a 2-3 record.
The Bills struck first Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium with an early field goal, but the Texans immediately responded with touchdowns on back-to-back drives. Running back Cam Akers easily navigated through the Bills' defense and rushed 15 yards to the end zone for the Texans' longest rushing touchdown of the season and their first of the game.
Houston's defense then forced a quick three-and-out and got the ball back to quarterback C.J. Stroud, who needed just one play to extend Houston's lead. Stroud launched the ball 55 yards downfield to wide receiver Nico Collins, who caught the ball in stride and easily beat out the Bills' secondary, running 12 yards into the end zone to give the Texans a 14-3 lead.
Fairbairn hit a 50-yard field goal as the second quarter came to a close and nailed a 47-yarder in the third quarter, extending Houston's lead to 20-3. But with just over eight minutes left in the third quarter, the Bills started their comeback. Touchdowns on back-to-back drives made it a one-score game at the end of the third quarter, and Buffalo tied it at 20 points apiece on a field goal with three minutes and 21 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
Houston couldn't respond on its next possession, and the Bills got the ball back with 32 seconds left. But the Texans' defense – which had held strong throughout the game – forced three straight incompletions and Buffalo punted with 16 seconds left. Texans wide receiver Robert Woods returned the punt to Buffalo's 46-yard line and, after Stroud connected with running back Dare Ogunbowale for an additional five yards, it all came down to Fairbairn, who rocketed a no-doubter through the uprights.
"Congratulations to 'Imi – no bigger play than a 59-yard walk-off," head coach DeMeco Ryans said. "It's comforting to know you have a guy who can hit it at that critical moment. It's clutch time, and he stood up."
While the most highlight-reel-worthy plays came from the Texans' offense, their defense was a force to be reckoned with all day. Houston held Bills' quarterback Josh Allen to just nine completions on 30 attempts for 131 yards and one touchdown, sacking him once but totaling nine quarterback hits. Stroud, comparatively, completed 28 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns.
"It took a valiant effort from everybody," Ryans said. "Allen, we knew we weren't going to get many sacks against him because he's so elusive in the pocket. We just had to keep rushing, keep the pressure on him."
Allen finished the day with a quarterback rating of 56.4. In the Bills' first three games Allen's quarterback ratings were all above 100, and in their Week 4 loss to the Baltimore Ravens his rating was 73.9. Stroud's quarterback rating on Sunday was 97.6.
The Texans next play the New England Patriots (1-4) on the road; Houston has an 0-7 record at Gillette Stadium.
