Josh Allen, Bills face challenge against Texans’ top-ranked defense on Thursday night

HOUSTON (AP) — Josh Allen had one of the best games of his career last week, throwing three touchdown passes and running for three more scores to lead the Buffalo Bills to a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

But as Allen and the Bills (7-3) prepared to visit the Houston Texans (5-5) on Thursday night, the reigning NFL MVP was reminded of a game that was decidedly not among his best.

Last season Allen threw for just 131 yards and had three straight incompletions on Buffalo’s last possession to force the Bills to punt and the Texans got a 23-20 win on a last-second field goal.

“I got beat up that game. Didn’t play well at all,” Allen said. “Watching that film, there’s a lot of good stuff to watch from that film but it’s hard to watch. I played pretty badly. So yeah, hopefully we can go out there and play a little bit better and move the ball a little better.”

It won’t be an easy task against a defense that allows the fewest yards (258.1) and points (16.3) in the NFL.

“We’re gonna have our hands full,” Allen said.

Houston defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who forced and recovered a fumble last week, knows the Texans will have to be at their best to slow down Allen.

“MVP, he’s a playmaker,” Anderson said. “We have a ton of respect for him … so for us, I think it’s just everybody being on the same page, especially us up front. It’s going to be a great challenge for us. But this is what the league is for. This is what these moments are for, Thursday night game, in front of the whole world, going against a really great team. How else would you want it?

The Texans will continue to lean on their defense this week with quarterback C.J. Stroud out for a third straight game recovering from a concussion. Davis Mills will get another start after leading Houston to wins over Jacksonville and Tennessee with strong fourth-quarter performances.

“Davis is doing his job,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “I know it gets heightened with the quarterback position, but it’s no different than any other position. You’ve got to go out, you’ve got to execute the fundamentals, the details of your job the right way. That’s what he’s done. That’s all we’re asking him to do.”

No fond memories

Bills second-year safety Cole Bishop shrugged and said “No,” when asked if Houston held a special place in his mind after making his first career start in last season’s loss to the Texans.

It might be good to forget, given he was burned a few times while filling in for injured starter Taylor Rapp. Bishop’s made a great leap in development in winning the starting job out of training camp this season.

He has three interceptions, including one in each of Buffalo’s past two outings, playing alongside veteran Jordan Poyer.

“I don’t know if validation is necessarily the word, but proving myself right feels good,” Bishop said.

Nico’s work

Houston’s Nico Collins has had two of his best games of the season in the past two weeks. He had a season-high 136 yards receiving two weeks ago and added 92 yards receiving with a touchdown in a 16-13 win over the Titans last week. Those performances came after he had just 154 yards receiving combined in the three previous games.

“Nico’s done a great job of executing and making some big plays, he’s a great player,” offensive coordinator Nick Caley said. “We’re always trying to keep him at the focal point of our offense, and we love getting him the ball. He makes plays. He’s got aggressive hands. He’s a dynamic playmaker. So, that doesn’t change from week to week for us.”

Coleman comeback?

Bills coach Sean McDermott said he’s moved on in reference to sitting out Keon Coleman against Tampa Bay after the second-year receiver was late to a meeting last week. It’s the second time Coleman’s missed time this season, and third time of his career, for showing up late for meetings.

What McDermott wouldn’t say is whether Coleman would return to action on Thursday.

“We’ll see how it goes,” McDermott said on Monday.

“It ultimately becomes about developing trust and the trust that your teammates have in you,” he added. “And that trust builds through repetition and consistency. So that’s the direction that we need him to go, and we believe he will go.”

Coming back

The Texans expect to get kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn back Thursday after the veteran missed the past two games with a quadriceps injury. Houston signed Matthew Wright to fill in while Fairbairn was injured and he made four field goals in two games, including the game-winner last week.

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AP Sports Writer John Wawrow contributed to this report.

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