What We Learned from Bills-Texans: A โShift in Momentumโค for Houston
Thursdayโ night’s thrilling Texans victory over the Bills offered โฃseveral key takeaways, highlighting both Houston’s emerging strengths and Buffalo’s puzzling decisions. The win propelled the Texans to a 6-5 record,considerably boosting their โplayoff chances,though much work remains to secure a postseason berth.
Davis Mills Stepped Up in Strough’s Absence: Withโ starting quarterback C.J. Stroud expected to returnโค from a three-game absence, the performance โof backup Davis Mills was notably โnoteworthy.Despite a slow start -โ beginning the game 1-for-8 and 3-of-12 – Mills rallied to complete eight of his next nine passes before halftime, orchestrating โtwo crucial touchdown โฃdrives. While the offense stalled in the second half, relying on a field goal generated by a turnover, Mills protected โthe ball, avoiding both sacks and turnovers. His resilience in holding the fort will be valuable if the Texans reach the playoffs.
Bills’ Rushing Attack Underutilized: Buffalo’s offensive strategyโค raised questions,specificallyโฃ regarding the limited use of running โback James cook. Cook enjoyed early success, gaining 75 yards on his โfirst seven carries,โฃ including a โ45-yard touchdown – the most rushing yards allowed by theโข Texans’ defense to an opponent all season. However,hisโค carries were drasticallyโ reduced until theโฃ fourth quarter,ultimately finishing with 19 touchesโ on 66 offensive plays. Despite struggling to sustain drives, the โขBills seeminglyโ abandoned a successful element of their offense, a decision that proved costly.โข Cook finished with โค117 of โBuffalo’s 326โข total yards. His 27 carries in a previousโข win againstโฃ the โChiefs โคcontrasted sharply โขwith Thursday’s usage.
Texans Demonstrate Late-Game Poise: Houston โisโข demonstrating a newfound ability to win close games. Previously strugglingโ in one-possession scenarios – losing their first five โby a combined 23 pointsโฃ – the Texans have now won three consecutive games decided by a single score. These victories against the Jaguars, Titans, and โฃBills showcase a โgrowing composureโ in criticalโข moments. Thursday’s win was largely driven by a strong defensive performance, holding the Bills to aโ single touchdown and repeatedlyโ denying them scoring opportunities inside the Houston 25-yard line.
Next Gen Statsโ & Record-Breaking Performance: James Cookโ reached a top speed of 21.33 mph onโ his 45-yardโ touchdown โคrun, marking his โคfastest play of theโ seasonโฃ and second-fastest of his career. On the Texans’ side,rookie Will Anderson Jr. extended his remarkable streak, recording a sack in his sixth consecutive game, tying Mario Williams’ franchise recordโข set in 2007. Only J.J. Watt, โคwith a seven-game streak spanning 2014-2015 โ(both Defensive Player of the Year seasons), has had a longer streak withโ the โTexans.
