The Buffalo Bills will open the 2026 season Sunday at Reliant Stadium against the Houston Texans. It’s a new season, a new coaching staff, a new roster, and a clean record.
There are some places where Josh Allen has built a highlight reel. Houston isn’t one of them.
But there is some history waiting for Allen when he walks back into that building.
Josh Allen has never won in Houston.
So, before he gets another shot Sunday, we’re opening the time capsule on Allen’s history with the Texans.
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2018: The first trip
Allen was a rookie when he made his first trip to Houston on Oct. 14, 2018, and he didn’t finish the game.
22-year-old Allen completed 10 of 17 passes for just 84 yards as Houston’s defense kept pressure on the rookie quarterback. Late in the third quarter, Allen injured his throwing elbow, and Nathan Peterman took over.
For a minute, it looked like Buffalo might get out of Houston with the win anyway. Peterman threw a touchdown pass to Zay Jones that gave Buffalo a fourth-quarter lead. But, with the game tied at 13 and less than two minutes remaining, Peterman threw a pick-six.
Houston won, 20-13.
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2021: The one Buffalo got
It would be three years before Allen would see Houston in the regular season again. This time, the Texans came to Buffalo. And this one wasn’t close.
Allen completed 20 of 30 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns as the Bills rolled to a 40-0 win. He also added 41 yards on the ground.
It’s Allen’s only victory over Houston. And it happened in Buffalo.
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2024: The one everybody circled
It would be another three seasons before the Bills and Texans met again. Allen wasn’t a rookie quarterback trying to establish himself in the NFL anymore, he was a household name. But going into that game, he wasn’t the only reason everyone was watching.
Stefon Diggs was waiting in Houston.
Buffalo had traded Diggs to the Texans during the offseason, setting up a reunion that became a storyline as soon as the schedule was released.
Diggs against Buffalo. Allen against Diggs.
All the questions about their relationship, the breakup, and what had gone wrong in Buffalo followed both of them into NRG Stadium. Diggs caught six passes for 82 yards. Allen had one of the roughest statistical afternoons of his career.
He completed just 9 of 30 passes for 131 yards for a career-low 30% completion rate. Houston took away the deep ball almost completely, with Allen connecting on just one of 15 attempts when he threw the ball at least 10 yards downfield.
Still, Buffalo fought back. Houston had led 20-3. The Bills erased all 17 points of that deficit and tied the game in the fourth quarter.
Then Houston won. Ka’imi Fairbairn connected from 59 yards as time expired.
Texans 23. Bills 20.
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2025: The one without a sideshow
A year later, Buffalo went back. Diggs was gone. So was the emotional sideshow that had surrounded the matchup a year earlier. Houston didn’t even have its starting quarterback. C.J. Stroud was sidelined, leaving Davis Mills to make the start.
This time, Allen’s passing numbers were considerably better. He completed 24 of 34 passes for 253 yards. James Cook ran for 116 yards, including a 45-yard touchdown, and Khalil Shakir caught eight passes for 110 yards.
Buffalo outgained Houston 326-261. The Bills ran 10 more offensive plays and held the ball for 32:22 compared with Houston’s 27:38.
But those weren’t the numbers that decided the game.
Houston sacked Allen eight times. Calen Bullock intercepted him twice and forced a fumble. Buffalo turned the ball over three times. Houston didn’t turn it over once.
A year earlier, Diggs had been the story. This time, Diggs was gone. The emotional sideshow was gone. The result wasn’t.
Texans 23. Bills 19.
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Four regular-season games against Houston. Three losses. One win. And that one came in Buffalo.
But there’s a fifth game that belongs in our time capsule. Technically, it doesn’t show up when we look at Allen’s regular-season history against the Texans, but Bills Mafia remembers it well.
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2019: The one that ended a season
Allen’s second trip to Houston wasn’t during the regular season. It was his first NFL playoff game.
The Bills arrived at NRG Stadium on Jan. 4, 2020, for an AFC Wild Card matchup, and for much of the game, it looked like Allen’s first playoff start was going to become his first playoff win.
Buffalo led 13-0 at halftime. The Bills added another three in the third quarter. Allen had even caught a touchdown pass.
Then Houston came back. The Texans erased the 16-point deficit and took a 19-16 lead before Buffalo forced overtime with a field goal in the final seconds of regulation.
Allen finished with 264 passing yards and another 92 on the ground. There were flashes of the quarterback Allen was becoming. There were also moments that looked very much like a 23-year-old playing his first postseason game. Allen completed just over 52% of his passes, took three sacks, and finished with a 69.5 passer rating.
In the end, it was Deshaun Watson, not Josh Allen, who led the game-winning drive in overtime.
Texans 22. Bills 19.
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So here we are again. Another season. Another trip to Houston.
The circumstances have changed drastically since a 22-year-old Allen walked into that stadium for the first time eight years ago. He’s been an MVP. He’s won division titles and playoff games. He’s become franchise quarterback Buffalo needed him to be. But there is still one thing he hasn’t done.
Josh Allen has never walked out of Houston with a win.
Sunday gives him another chance.
