Texans get 8 sacks and Calen Bullock forces 3 turnovers in Houston’s 23-19 win over Bills

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston’s dominant defense sacked Josh Allen eight times and Calen Bullock forced three turnovers, with his second interception sealing the Texans’ 23-19 win over the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night.

Allen took consecutive sacks on the Bills’ final possession, leading to a fourth-and-27, but Buffalo gained 44 yards on a short pass from Allen to Josh Palmer, who tossed a lateral to Khalil Shakir.

After a false-start penalty created a fourth-and-6 for Buffalo (7-4), Bullock picked off Allen at the Houston 9 with 24 seconds left.

Davis Mills threw for 153 yards with two first-half TD passes to help the Texans (6-5) to their third straight victory with C.J. Stroud sidelined by a concussion. Houston moved above .500 for the first time this season.

Allen threw for 253 yards without a touchdown after accounting for six touchdowns in a win over Tampa Bay last week. He was harassed all night, and the eight sacks were the most he’s taken in his career. Will Anderson Jr. had 2 1/2 sacks and Danielle Hunter had two.

Bullock forced a fumble after a catch by Shakir with about four minutes left in the third and Jaylen Reed recovered it and returned it 9 yards to the Buffalo 22. The Texans extended the lead to 23-16 on Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 26-yard field goal.

James Cook was stuffed for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-1 on Buffalo’s next drive to give Houston the ball. But Houston couldn’t move the ball and punted.

Shakir took a short pass for a 44-yard gain, but Buffalo’s drive stalled after that and the Bills settled for a 38-yard field goal by Matt Prater that cut the lead to 23-19 with about six minutes to go.

Anderson had his sixth straight game with at least one sack, tying Mario Williams for the longest streak in a single season in franchise history. His second sack came when he almost took Allen down near the line of scrimmage, but he wriggled away and Anderson got up and chased him across the field to drop him for an 18-yard loss to force a punt early in the third.

Cook had 116 yards rushing with a touchdown to give him 1,084 yards this year, his third straight 1,000-yard season. He’s the third player in team history to do that, joining Thurman Thomas (eight) and O.J. Simpson (five).

Cook’s 45-yard TD run gave the Bills an early lead, but Prater missed the extra point.

The Texans had a first down at the 6 on the ensuing possession, but they settled for a 24-yard field goal to cut the lead to 6-3.

The Bills led by six after another field goal when Christian Kirk scored his first touchdown as a Texan on a 2-yard reception to put Houston on top 10-9 about four minutes before halftime.

Bullock intercepted Allen on a ball that was tipped and returned it 44 yards for a touchdown. But the score was called back because of a block in the back, giving Houston the ball at the Buffalo 25. Houston added a field goal after that to extend the lead to 13-9.

Ray Davis returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to put Buffalo up 16-13. Davis bounced off a defender and spun away from the crowd before dashing down the field and flipping into the end zone. It was Buffalo’s first kick return for a touchdown since a 101-yard return by Nyheim Hines on Jan. 8, 2023 and the team’s first on the road since C.J. Spiller’s 95-yard return at New England on Sept. 26, 2010.

The Texans regained the lead when Jayden Higgins grabbed an 8-yard touchdown pass with 8 seconds left in the first half. The Texans got into scoring position with a 33-yard catch-and-run by Kirk.

Injuries

Bills: LB Terrel Bernard left with an elbow injury in the third quarter.

Texans: CB Ajani Carter left in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury.

Up next

Bills: Visit Pittsburgh on Nov. 30.

Texans: Visit Indianapolis on Nov. 30.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL