HOUSTON — The Houston Texans survived a scare from the visiting Buffalo Bills by scoring 19 points in the fourth-quarter and holding on in overtime to secure a 22-19 overtime victory Saturday in the first AFC wild-card game of the weekend.
Deshaun Watson led three second-half scoring drives to erase a double-digit deficit and then was at his best in overtime, directing a 73-yard game-winning drive capped by a 28-yard Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal to help Houston advance to the divisional round.
“I told the guys, I put a card in their lockers, ‘Let’s be great today,’ ” said Watson, who finished with 247 yards on 20-of-25 passing. “Somebody had to be great. Why not me?”
Houston will face either the Baltimore Ravens or the Kansas City Chiefs next weekend, pending the result of Saturday night’s game between the New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans.
Here are three things that stood out Saturday.
1. Experience provides the edge — The Bills and quarterback Josh Allen opened the game in impressive fashion. When they took a 16-0 lead in the third quarter, it appeared as though the Bills would be punching their ticket for the divisional round. However, the Texans kept plugging along and eventually hit their stride. A Texans team that lost at home to Indianapolis in last year’s wild-card round drew on that experience this time around and had just enough to edge out a talented yet still developing Bills team.
2. Tale of two quarterbacks — Both Allen and Watson entered this game with a chance to make big statements at this early stage of their young careers as they sought their first playoff win. Allen impressed for much of the game but then fell apart as his youth and inexperience showed. Meanwhile, Watson overcame a slow start to deliver the game-winning heroics his team needed.
Allen largely has shown flashes in his second season, but he has lacked consistency as a passer. Saturday, however, he did a much better job of using his legs to enhance his passing game. But Allen’s made costly mistakes that prevented his team from putting the game away. A fourth-quarter fumble, an intentional grounding call on his team’s penultimate drive of the fourth quarter and a 19-yard sack he took on the ensuing fourth down all proved damaging. Allen did position the Bills for an overtime-forcing field goal, and he did make a couple of nice throws in overtime. But he came up short by a hair, finishing with 264 yards on 24-of-46 passing.
Meanwhile, Watson was flustered early and initially unable to deliver the typical wizardry his team needed. Many times, Watson found himself under pressure before plays had a chance to unfold. Other times, he held onto the ball too long and took unnecessary sacks (seven on the day). Not until midway through the fourth quarter did Watson and top target DeAndre Hopkins connect on a downfield shot (41 yards). But in a testament to his resilience, Watson willed his team back into the game, directing two second-half touchdown drives, both of which he capped with two-point conversions. And then in overtime, he set up the deciding field goal on a second-and-6 play by slipping out of a pass rusher’s grasp and connecting with running back Taiwan Jones on a 34-yard catch-and-run.
Watson spoke during the week about the pace of the game, and how he would be better prepared for it this year thanks to last year’s experience, and he was. His poise was evident, as was his refusal to let early-game struggles derail him. In the game’s biggest moments, Watson used unyielding determination, the threat of his legs and his feel for the game to manipulate the Bills defense for difference-making plays. As a result, he and Houston emerged with their first playoff win since 2016.
3. Defining defenses — For much of the game, it was clear that the Bills defense is everything that the Texans’ unit is not. Buffalo’s group is stout against the run, aggressive in pursuit of the quarterback and has game-changers in the secondary. The Bills’ consistency through three quarters helped ease pressure on the offense. Buffalo wilted late defensively, however, enabling the Texans to orchestrate two long drives and take the lead. And the unit failed to hold up in overtime.
Maintaining the theme of their team, Houston’s defense also shook off early missteps to supply key contributions to the victory. In the second half of the season, the Texans yielded an average of 156.7 rushing yards per game, and those struggles continued Saturday, as Buffalo racked up 172 yards on 30 carries. But as the game progressed and once Buffalo found itself in more passing situations, the Texans defense capitalized, pressuring Allen and forcing him into mistakes.
Follow Mike Jones on Twitter @ByMikeJones.
