Someone must have told the Houston Texans it was backwards day. The Texans are supposed to have arguably the best defense in the NFL, yet the Buffalo Bills only went scoreless on three drives on Sunday, excluding the final drives of the halves. Houston's offense was able to keep it in the game, but it ran out of gas in the end, losing 36-31.
It was expected to be a close matchup, but not in the fashion that it was. The Bills scored just 19 points in their showdown last season. How did they manage to neutralize the Texans defense? Houston scored over 30 points just four times in 2025. How did it explode for 31 in week one? Most of it can be traced to the 'winners' and 'losers' below.
The best and worst from the Texans' loss to Bills
Since it's just week one, I think it's best to look at the game from a zoomed-out perspective. The Bills are undoubtedly one of the best teams in the NFL, let alone the AFC. Their quarterback, Josh Allen, is possibly the best the Texans will face all season. If it took nearly a perfect game from the Buffalo offense to win the game in week one, Houston is in a good place.
Quarterback CJ Stroud was nearly in the 'winners' section, but his second fumble sealed the loss for the Texans. However, with 289 total yards and two touchdowns, I didn't think the fumbles were enough to warrant the 'loser' section. Houston didn't lose just because of his fumbles, but they ended up hurting.
On that note, I'm starting with who I thought the 'winners' were for the Texans.
Winners: RB David Montgomery and the entire TE room
The debut of David Montgomery did not disappoint. The running back formerly known as 'Knuckles' punched his way into the endzone three times (2 rushing, 1 receiving) and accumulated 79 total yards on 23 touches. He showed his usual power, but he also showed a burst that isn't seen, or perhaps just isn't noticed as often. With Woody Marks acting as the change-of-pace back, Montgomery should see at least 20 touches every game, and he looks ready for it.
Tight ends Dalton Schultz (extension) and Foster Moreau both signed with the Texans in the offseason, and Marlin Klein was drafted out of Michigan. Given the attention Houston paid to the tight end position, along with the addition of Montgomery, it was clear it wanted to go into a certain direction with the offense. Just one game into the season, it seems to be paying off.
The tight ends didn't put up crazy numbers, but several of them contributed. Schultz led the way in receiving with four catches for 35 yards. Klein, Moreau and Cade Stover combined for four receptions for 29 yards. Houston also used its tight ends to block in the running game often, and it worked well. As long as the Texans can run the ball like they did Sunday, the offense will be tough to stop.
Losers: DE Danielle Hunter and every defensive back
Defensive end Danielle Hunter was nowhere to be found on Sunday. He simply had zero impact, resulting in zero tackles and zero sacks. To be fair, the Texans only came up with two sacks as a team, but he still should have made his presence felt. Hunter and fellow DE Will Anderson Jr. faced double teams throughout the game, but it's something they're used to. Anderson Jr. had a half sack and three tackles, and Hunter couldn't manage to do anything.
The lack of pressure on Allen resulted in 357 total yards and four total touchdowns from the quarterback. The defense also failed to stop running back James Cook, as he accounted for 69 total yards.
The defensive backs unit in Houston is supposed to be one of the best in the league, but it didn't look like it Sunday. Bills tight end Dalton Kincaid torched the Texans for a career-high 130 receiving yards. New Buffalo wide receiver DJ Moore recorded 100 yards, and he didn't reach triple digits all of last season. Josh Palmer caught the game-winning touchdown for the Bills in the fourth quarter, and it was his first time scoring since 2024.
Whether the Texans secondary underestimated the Bills, or they simply got outplayed, it should act as a wakeup call.
Add us as a preferred source on Google