Texans Shock the MVP: Houston’s Defense drags Buffalo into the mud
November 21, 2025
Who else thought that the reigning MVP fresh off a Superman performance would roll into Houston and get benched at the end of the third quarter after they were up by so much? They’re only two weeks removed from that ugly beating they took from Miami. After getting right against a tough Baker Mayfield Buc’s group, surely they could handle a Davis Mills led Texans squad and not take a step backwards.
Hold on a second. The Texans don’t get a lot of respect because most of the country sees what they look like with CJ Stroud out. Truthfully, they might even look better without Stroud in the lineup. At least they do as of late. Davis Mills did look pretty sloppy early but the defense kept getting stops and put their offense in great field position. This Houston squad has a defense ranked first in points allowed and yards allowed per game. They generated 29 pressures on Josh Allen resulting in 8 sacks!! That’s the most Josh Allen has ever taken in his career and it didn’t just stop there as they were able to force three turnovers (2 interceptions, 1 fumble). To say they were relentless might be an understatement.
The Houston defense bought their offense enough time to find themselves. Texans’ oft criticized offensive line had just 9 pressures allowed resulting in no sacks given up despite Mills’ 2.42s time to throw (Allen – 2.79s). Some throws were just rushed, forced or mistimed. There were some miscommunication issues between MIlls and his young receiving corps that resulted in poor or inaccurate throws but Higgins was showing flashes as the game kept going. Mills kept firing, scanning the defense and pushing the ball downfield with an average depth of target of 8.6. Houston was fortunate to score two touchdowns in the first half because Buffalo held them to just three points in the 3rd and 4th quarter.
The Bills offense continued to frustrate their fans. How can they possibly look so good one week and so lost the next? Keon Coleman was scratched again, but last week’s hero Tyrell Shavers was nowhere to be found with zero targets. Gabe Davis was elevated from the practice squad but only contributed one reception. Kincaid, out. Samuel, out. That left Khalil Shakir and the running back tandem of Cook and Ty Johnson to figure things out. Cook broke a 45 yard touchdown (missed XP) run early but would only gain 71 yards the rest of the game. Shakir broke the century mark for the first time this season off his 10 targets. 33 yards came on a desperation 4th and 27 late in the game after Allen had taken back to back sacks. Though he completed 71% of his passes, he was having trouble finding open receivers and only had an average depth of target of 5.5. Meaning, he wasn’t able to push things downfield at all. Only 23% of his throws went past the sticks compared to Mills’ 50%. Allen faced A LOT of pressure for most of the night. Situations where he’d spin or run out to obtain a first down just weren’t present with a swarming Houston defense. Despite converting that 4th and 27 late, he still wound up throwing an interception on that drive to seal the loss; dropping them to 7-4. Now, yes, if Matt Prater just hits the extra point early in the game then the Bills only need a field goal on that last drive to send this thing to overtime, but that’s not how it played out. Otherwise, we would be talking about that mega conversion late as a Buffalo miracle that sent this to OT where they might’ve won it. Buffalo had no problem shutting down the Texans offense in the second half, it very well could have played out that way.
Buffalo will have an up and down schedule to close things out coming up ahead. Traveling to Pittsburgh and possibly taking on Joe Burrow and Cincy before their rematch with the Patriots in New England. As for Houston, they’re 6-5 but will have a very tough two game stretch with Indy and KC on tap. With CJ Stroud nearing a return, they’ll have a decision to make with Mills now 3-0 as their current starter.
Keith, Author
Keith runs youth flag football leagues by day, and by night he hosts the podcast and writes articles with the confidence of a man who’s been rushing quarterbacks since dial-up. A longtime flag football DE and lifelong Falcons fan, he’s no stranger to heartbreak and enjoys watching the bears get slaughtered each week. Equal parts coach, critic, and chaos, Keith calls it like he sees it… even if it hurts.
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