The Texans have had the pressure turned up to eleven all November long…and they just keep winning!
Each and every game since Davis Mills has mounted the starting job at signal caller, Houston has been clawing, scratching, and digging for every single point, barely escaping with victories that most other teams would have walked away with. Tonight’s pivotal Thursday night game against the Bills was no different: without Stroud and Jalen Pitre again, the Texans were going to have to prove everyone wrong
and take it to the might Buffalo Bills. And, just like every other game this season, the game came down to the final minutes, held great tension, and was determined by a few plays on offense and defense that changed everything.
Davis Mills, after yet another abhorrent, abysmal, career-ending first quarter where you thought you’d grow a third arm before he completed a pass, came alive in the second quarter, miraculously led two touchdown drives to give the Texans the lead at halftime. The defense, as usual, was all over Josh Allen and the Bills offensive backfield, primarily thanks to a MVP-caliber game from edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. Besides the first quarter touchdown, the Bills offense was completely shut down, forced to two turnovers, and nearly scored a defensive touchdown via a Calen Bullock interception in the second quarter, but was nullified by an illegal block-in-the-back penalty by Derek Barnett. But, regardless, the Texans played excellent complentary football in the second quarter, and entered halftime leading 20-16.
And that would be it for the Davis Mills offense! As usual, the great neck retreated into his shell after a solid quarter, never to be seen again. The Bills did an excellent job dialing up blitzes on Mills in the second half, keeping him flustered and at his normal level of incompetency. In the entire second half. The Houston Texans offense totaled just 20 plays for 36 yards and two first downs. For a fleeting moment, you might have been fooled by Nick Caley and Davis Mills, thinking the second quarter performance was evidence they had improved. But, nope! As with every other game, the game was to come down the defense holding the Bills to an absolute minimum of yardage and points the entire second half…AND. THEY. DID!
Derek Barnett, Tim Settle, Dylan Horton, Henry To’oTo’o, and Danielle Hunter made life torture for Josh Allen…but none had an impact on the game like Will Anderson. Anderson LIVED in the backfield, totaling two sacks, two tackles for loss, and five tackles. But, despite all of that, Buffalo was able to nab a field goal in the fourth quarter, and get the ball back down four points with 2:48 left in the game. Houston’s defense sacked Josh Allen twice to make it 4th and 27 at the Buffalo 30…and Buffalo converted it with a hook-and-ladder play! You literally could not write a football game to have more tension and more ridiculousness in one game. Three plays later, and Houston had forced Buffalo to another 4th down, but this time, it was fourth and one at the Houston 17. Then, Buffalo left tackle, Dion Dawkins, gives up a false start penalty to make it 4th and 6! Now, Josh Allen keeping the QB-sneak would be impossible, and he was going to have to throw the ball to keep the Bills alive. He takes the snap, fires the ball to Joshua Palmer, and….INTERCEPTED!!!! CALEN BULLOCK GETS HIS SECOND INTERCEPTION OF THE GAME TO WIN IT! The defense has won it, again!
What a game! What an absolute chaotic nightmare of a game….that I think caused about five years to be shaved off of my life. To follow in Scott Barzilla’s tradition by handing out a game ball to one player on offense and one player on defense. It’s hard to give a game-ball to any offensive player given that they practically fell asleep the entire second half, but if I believe Woody Marks earned it this game. You could argue that Davis Mills did enough to win with his two touchdowns in the second quarter, and you could also argue Jayden Higgins deserves praise for getting crucial first downs at multiple points of the game, but I’ve been in love with Woody Marks since April! He finished with a season-high game total of 76 rushing yards on 16 attempts, good for 4.6 yards per attempt. Battered and at one point injured, Marks held no quarter and took it to the Bills defense every chance he got. On defense, I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the game ball than Will Anderson, who almost single-handedly won the football game in the second half. He had plenty of help from Danielle Hunter, the interior lineman, and a surprising dosage of Calen Bullock, but it was Anderson who controlled the game.
Now, having won three in a row with their backup quarterback, the Houston Texans get an extended break before suiting up for a pivotal AFC South matchup in Indianapolis against the 8-2 Colts. CJ Stroud is expected to return, and if Jalen Pitre were to as well, they could ride this massive wave of momentum to a level of success many of us thought was impossible after the season started with three straight losses. Say what you will about the Texans, but they refuse to go down without a fight, and, thanks to this win on Thursday night, will be right in the middle of the AFC playoffs race for the foreseeable future. What a game!
GO TEXANS!!!!
