Allen's Four Touchdowns Carry Bills Past Texans 36-31 in Opener

The Buffalo Bills opened the 2026 regular season with a 36-31 road win over the Houston Texans on Sunday in Houston. Quarterback Josh Allen accounted for all four Buffalo touchdowns. The finish turned on a dropped interception, a 34-yard strike, and one last sack.

Buffalo trailed 31-30 with 1:48 left when Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter could not hold a potential game-sealing interception of an Allen pass, according to The Guardian. Houston almost had him. Twelve seconds later, Allen found receiver Joshua Palmer for a 34-yard touchdown that put the Bills ahead 36-31 with 1:36 remaining.

Houston still had a chance. Texans quarterback CJ Stroud fumbled on a sack — a tackle of the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage — with 16 seconds left, and that ended the comeback bid.

Allen finished 20 of 29 passing for 334 yards with two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 130.5 passer rating, a measure of passing efficiency. He added six carries for 23 yards and two more scores on the ground, giving him 357 total yards and four total touchdowns in the Week 1 opener, per the Buffalo Bills.

The clean night through the air fits a recent trend. Allen totaled 37 turnovers combined in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, then 18 combined in the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Sunday was also Joe Brady's first win as Bills head coach, and the game was the first with Jim Leonhard as Buffalo's new defensive coordinator.

What makes this stand out is how close Buffalo came to losing a game it largely controlled through its quarterback. Allen gave Houston an opening with the late throw into traffic, then erased it immediately with the deep ball to Palmer. For fans, that is the full Allen package: risk, arm talent, and an answer before the defense can celebrate.

Elsewhere in the same week, the Baltimore Ravens beat the Indianapolis Colts 41-23. Derrick Henry powered that win with 24 carries for 144 yards and three touchdowns.