The Houston Texans fell, 40-0, at Buffalo in QB Davis Mills' first road start.
"We couldn't keep drives alive because we really couldn't run the ball again," Head Coach David Culley said. "We couldn't get it running and then, we put ourselves in some penalty situations that put us in third-and-long. And you know, nobody's going to be good in third-and-long. We were not very good on first and second down, which put us in those third-and-longs, and we got into those third-and-longs too early because of some penalties, and we can't play that way."
Mills and the offense struggled to move the ball and committed four turnovers in the loss. Houston's offense gained 109 yards (61 passing, 48 rushing) and converted six first downs. The Texans converted just 1-of-9 third downs and turned the ball over on the final three drives of the game. The Texans also committed 10 penalties for 100 yards.
"We made some bad decisions there early," Culley said. "We just didn't play good football. It had nothing to do with the weather."
The Texans defense had one takeaway in the loss, an early interception by DB Lonnie Johnson Jr. The defense also forced the Bills to settle for four field goals on four consecutive red zone trips until scoring three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. DL Whitney Mercilus recorded a sack in the loss, and DB Desmond King II finished with a team-high nine tackles (eight solo), one tackle for loss and one forced fumble.
After his first pass of the day was intercepted, QB Josh Allen completed 20-of-29 for 248 yards, with two touchdowns and the lone interception. TE Dawson Knox caught two touchdown passes while WR Stefon Diggs finished with seven catches for 114 yards. Backup QB Mitchell Trubisky entered the game late in the fourth quarter and ran for a score.
"We didn't capitalize on making the play, had a couple dropped interceptions, ball was on the ground a bunch of times or, it could have easily went the opposite way," LB Christian Kirksey said of three fumbles recovered by the Bill offense. "So from a defensive standpoint, we got to convert when we get the opportunity."
Johnson intercepted Allen on the first play of the Bill's opening drive. He picked off the pass, intended for Diggs, and returned it 32 yards to the Bills 13-yard line.
The Texans came away without points after Mills' pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage on fourth down at the Bills' six-yard line. Culley explained his decision to keep his offense on the field instead of kicking the field goal.
"You have to have sevens when you're playing teams like this," Culley said. "I didn't feel like three points at that time was good enough and I felt like we could score at that point, and we needed to have seven points instead of three points."
On Houston's third possession, LB Tremaine Edmunds intercepted a Mills pass. Allen's scramble on fourth down extended the drive that ended in a touchdown pass to Knox. The Bills took a 7-0 lead with 1:59 left in the first quarter.
The Texans defense held the Bills to three field goals and a fourth-down stop in the second quarter. The third field goal capped off a drive that started with Mills' second interception after his pass was deflected and picked off by S Micah Hyde.
The Bills headed into halftime with a 16-0 lead.
The power briefly went out in the stadium after halftime, but the Bills continued to score, adding another field goal on their only possession of the quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Bills added three touchdowns while the Texans turned the ball over as many times. A fumble by TE Jordan Akins ended in a Zack Moss four-yard touchdown run. Mills threw two interceptions and Trubisky entered the game for Allen after the first interception and scored on a four-yard touchdown run.
With the loss, Houston falls to 1-3 on the season and will host the New England Patriots in Week 5. Click here for tickets.
