Bills vs. Texans score, live updates: Houston leads Buffalo at halftime after Jayden Higgins’ TD catch
Follow live coverage as Josh Allen and Buffalo face Houston in a key AFC showdown
Q2 0:09 – Bills 16, Texans 13
Wow! Great play call, great route from Christian Kirk, great throw from Davis Mills, and superb catch-and-run from Kirk to set Houston up at first-and-goal!
Texans WR Collins injured
Q2 0:51 – Bills 16, Texans 13
Another big catch for Nico Collins to get the Texans to midfield, but he’s down on the field with an apparent rib injury after a hard hit from Bills safety Cole Bishop.
Collins has become a star in Houston but has also dealt with injury concerns, and a Texans offense already missing C.J. Stroud can’t afford to lose him.
Credit where it’s due, the Bills defense stepped it up after that bad interception by Josh Allen. They began the defensive series with two straight stops for a loss, setting up the Texans with an extremely difficult 3rd-and-17 conversion. That three-and-out could make a huge difference in the outcome of this game.
Happy birthday, Ray Davis
The Bills’ kickoff return unit was trending up in a big way last week, and Ray Davis had several great returns against Tampa Bay in Week 11. Now he’s got a touchdown, and on his birthday, no less.
TOUCHDOWN: BILLS TAKE THE LEAD ON A KICKOFF RETURN
Q2 1:43 – Bills 16, Texans 13
Turns out, Josh Allen doesn’t even need to respond to put Buffalo in the lead!
Ray Davis runs the kickoff 98 yards to the house! Bills are back on top!
Bills turnover issues continue
Buffalo committed just six giveaways through its first eight games, but over the past 10 quarters has turned it over seven times. Allen threw a bad interception linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair should’ve caught, but the big deflection went to safety Calen Bullock at Buffalo’s 44-yard line. Bullock’s dazzling return went the distance for a touchdown, but the Bills were saved by defensive end Derek Barnett’s blindside block on tight end Dawson Knox. Barnett’s blunder cost Houston four points after Ka’imi Fairbarn had to kick a field goal.
Q2 1:56 – Texans 13, Bills 9
The Texans take the points, and Kai Fairbairn hits the 43-yard field goal to make it a four-point game.
Time to see how Josh Allen responds after that interception…
Q2 2:00 – Texans 10, Bills 9
An interesting decision awaits DeMeco Ryans …
After the interception, Houston goes backward on two straight plays to set up third-and-17. Davis Mills connects with Christian Kirk for a 12-yard gain, but that’s only good to set up fourth-and-5 well within field-goal range.
Let’s see what the Texans coach does after this timeout.
Marks making it happen
Texans rookie running back Woody Marks has some juice.
He’s decisive as a runner, elusive in space and hard to bring down because of his physicality.
He’s rushed for 46 yards on seven carries so far tonight and nearly found the end zone twice, including on a toss in the first quarter that gained 19 yards.
Ugly stretch for Bills DB
Rough series for Bills nickelback Taron Johnson on the last Texans drive. On fourth-and-1, Johnson squared up running back Woody Marks, but got dragged for a gain of 6. Two plays later, Davis Mills threw an incomplete pass to Nico Collins that would have created a third-and-10 situation at Buffalo’s 18-yard line. But Johnson was flagged for illegal contact, giving Houston another first down. The drive marched on for 12 plays and 77 yards, ending with a 2-yard toss to wide-open Christian Kirk in the end zone to put Houston ahead by a point.
Josh Allen INTERCEPTED!
Q2 3:41 – Texans 10, Bills 9
OH MY. Josh Allen’s struggles against Houston continue. Sheldon Rankins tips one in the air, and Calen Bullock snags the interception!
He takes it all the way into the end zone, but a flag on a block in the back moves the return back to the Bills’ 30-yard line. Still, a short field for the Texans after the turnover.
Even with Davis Mills’ erratic night continuing, the Texans were able to march straight down the field against a struggling Bills defense and into the end zone, spanning 77 yards on 12 plays.
Mills is 4-for-13 passing for 40 yards tonight but finally found Christian Kirk in the end zone. He missed a few throws on that drive that could have resulted in scores but eventually he connected.
TOUCHDOWN: Texans lead!
Q2 3:47 – Texans 10, Bills 9
Perfect time for a play-action pass, and Davis Mills runs it perfectly. The Bills bite, and Christian Kirk is left wide open in the end zone for the easy touchdown pass. Houston takes its first lead of the game!
Q2 4:47 – Bills 9, Texas 3
Another impressive Woody Marks run on third-and-1, and the Texans have first-and-goal inside the Bills’ 5.
Q2 5:00 – Bills 9, Texas 3
Xavier Hutchinson takes a reverse that’s set up for a pass, but instead cuts it back and gets nine yards near the first-down marker! What a play from the least hyped of the three Iowa State wide receivers on this Texans team…
Texans convert fourth down
Q2 6:40 – Bills 9, Texas 3
Davis Mills has Jayden Higgins open deep one-on-one but underthrows him. A third-down shovel pass to Christian Kirk sets up a fourth-and-1, the Texans go for it … and get it as Woody Marks barrels through contact! Another impressive showing from the rookie running back.
Q2 9:35 – Bills 9, Texas 3
The Texans offense is in business again… one play after hitting Nico Collins for a 24-yard gain to get to midfield, Davis Mills scrambles and draws a facemask penalty to add 15 more yards to his run. Bills inside the Texans’ 35 on just two plays.
Good stand from Texans
After allowing that third-down completion to Ty Johnson, Houston’s defense does well to get off the field and hold Buffalo to three points.
Will Anderson Jr. got after Josh Allen again and got his first sack of the night, which halted the Bills’ momentum.
The Texans will need to keep applying pressure to the reigning MVP.
Bills staying aggressive in pass game
Although the passing results are not as strong so far as they were last week, the Bills are continuing their trend from last week’s game of pushing the ball down the field through the air a bit more. There have been a couple of low yardage targets but many of Josh Allen’s 14 attempts have been down the field so far. The good progress has remained after a nine-game stretch of struggling in that department.
Bills tack on field goal
Q2 9:35 – Bills 9, Texas 3
Josh Allen is pressured again. He somehow scrambles and fires a dot across his body that hits Joshua Palmer low in the hands, but the wide receiver can’t hang on.
However, Matt Prater atones for his missed extra point earlier by sending a 44-yard field goal through the uprights.
Q2 10:20 – Bills 6, Texas 3
Will Anderson’s first tackle of Josh Allen wasn’t technically a sack. This one is! Bills face a third-and-22 after the star Texans pass rusher does what he does.
Q2 11:20 – Bills 6, Texas 3
A quick out to Khalil Shakir doesn’t get first-down yardage, and the Bills go for it on fourth-and-2. Josh Allen finds Ty Johnson open down the field! Huge play gets Buffalo into the red zone.
