HOUSTON – While the sample size is scant, the fact remains that the Buffalo Bills have lost to the Houston Texans in their last five visits to NRG Stadium, a streak they really need to end Thursday night when the teams meet on Amazon Prime at 8:15.
They have not won in Houston in almost exactly 19 years – Nov. 19, 2006 – when J.P. Losman threw a pair of 83-yard touchdown passes to Lee Evans six minutes apart in the first quarter, and then hit Peerless Price with a 15-yard TD with nine seconds remaining to pull out a 24-21 victory.
Since then, there were losses in 2012 and 2014, and the last three have come with Josh Allen at quarterback. In 2018, he exited early with an elbow injury and Buffalo fell 20-13; there was the 2019 AFC wild-card 22-19 overtime loss; and then last year’s 23-20 defeat when Allen played one of the worst games of his career.
“Yeah, I got beat up that game, didn’t play well at all,” Allen admitted on Tuesday. “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 (chuckles) we can go out there and play a little bit better and move the ball a little better. But again, this defense is no easy task to go against. And it’s gonna take everything that we got from everybody on the field.”
Of course, bucking that trend is the Bills’ recent success in Thursday games. Counting three Thanksgiving appearances, the Bills are 8-0 since Allen came to town including 5-0 on Thursday Night Football, most recently a 31-21 victory over Miami back in Week 3.
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Texans score vs. Bills: Davis Mills throws touchdown pass Jaylen Higgins | Texans 20, Bills 16
Never mind the jolt the Ray Davis kickoff return touchdown gave the Bills because the defense no-showed on the following possession and allowed the Texans to walk right down the field to a go-ahead touchdown. Davis Mills hit Jaylen Higgins on an eight-yard pass to cap a ridiculously easy six-play, 75-yard drive, the big play being a 33-yard pass to Christian Kirk.
Bills score vs. Texans: Ray Davis returns kick 97 yards for touchdown | Bills 16, Texans 13
Well, that was quite a lightning bolt. Following the Allen interception and Houston field goal, Ray Davis ran the kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown.
Texans score vs. Bills: Ka’imi Fairbairn makes field goal | Texans 13, Bills 9
The game has taken a dark turn for the Bills. On the first play after the kickoff following the Texans’ go- ahead touchdown, Josh Allen threw a terrible pass intended for Elijah Moore into what looked like triple coverage. The ball was tipped by linebacker Al-Shaiir Azeez and was picked off by cornerback Calen Bullock who returned it for a touchdown, but that was nullified by a blind side block. Here, the Bills’ defense came up with a big three-down stop and Houston settled for a Ka’imi Fairbairn 43-yard field goal.
Josh Allen throws interception but penalty negates a pick-six
Josh Allen threw an interception. It was almost a pick-six. On the first play of the series, Allen threw for Elijah Moore. The pass was deflected by linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair and intercepted by Calen Bullock. The safety weaved through traffic and into the end zone for what would’ve been a 44-yard return for a touchdown but defensive end Derek Barnett was flagged for an illegal blindside block on tight end Dawson Knox on the return so Houston will start from the Bills’ 30.
Allen hasn’t thrown a pick-six since the 2019 season opener.
Texans score vs. Bills: Davis Mills throws TD to Christian Kirk | Texans 10, Bills 9
Houston QB Davis Mills is 4-of-13 for 40 yards, yet the Texans now have the lead over the Bills. Houston drove 77 yards and Mills hit Christian Kirk with a two-yard TD as the Bills were completely confused and he was wide open. Mills did hit Nico Collins for 24 yards to start the drive, but thereafter the Bills were their own worst enemy. A facemask penalty on Deone Walker cost them 15 yards, an illegal contact on Taron Johnson produced an automatic first down, and Johnson failed to stop a fourth-and-1 run by Woody Marks when he was right there to make the stop
Bills score vs. Texans: Matt Prater makes field goal | Bills 9, Texans 3
For the second time in the game, the Bills converted a fourth down and this was a big one as Josh Allen hit Ty Johnson for a 23-yard gain to the Texans 14. But from there, a promising drive died thanks to a blown up Johnson run, a sack of Josh Allen, and a dropped pass by Khalil Shakir. Thus, the Bills settled for a 44-yard Matt Prater field goal.
Texans punt
Davis Mills has started 1 of 8 for 10 yards. Nick Chubb had a 4-yard run and Mills threw back-to-back incompletions. Tommy Townsend punted 57 yards to the Bills’ 5.
Bills go three-and-out
James Cook opened with a 6-yard run but Khalil Shakir was tackled for a 2-yard loss on a reception and Allen scrambled for 2 yards and escaped an injury scare as he was leveled from behind by defensive end Will Anderson Jr. Mitch Wishnowsky punted 48 yards to the Texans’ 34-yard line.
Bills score vs. Texans: Ka’imi Fairbairn makes field goal | Bills 6, Texans 3
Houston’s second offensive possession was certainly better than its first, though it ended in a field goal instead of a touchdown. It started at the 41 after a 37-yard kickoff return from Jaylen Noel. And from there, the Bills’ defense was simply terrible as the Texans moved 54 yards as if they were going against air. As usual, the run defense was putrid as Woody Marks had back-to-back runs of 12 and 19 yards to move the ball to the 6, but that’s where the Buffalo defense made its stand and forced a 24-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbarn.
Bills score vs. Texans: James Cook runs for 45-yard touchdown | Bills 6, Texans 0
Quite a start for the Bills. After the defense got a three-and-out, the Bills took possession at their own 19 and faced early adversity with a fourth-and-1 at the 28. Sean McDermott made a gutsy call to go and Josh Allen leaped over the pile to convert. From there, the Bills rolled downfield and James Cook capped the 81-yard drive by blowing through a huge hole up the middle on a third-and-1 from the Houston 45 and taking it to the house. However, Matt Prater missed the extra point.
Texans open with a punt
Houston received the ball first and went three-and-out. Davis Mills threw incomplete on first down, Woody Marks ran up the middle for 6 yards and Mills pass was off target for Jayden Higgins on third down. Tommy Townsend punted 43 yards and Khalil Shakir returned it 8 yards but Buffalo’s Jordan Hancock was flagged for holding on the return.
Keon Coleman indeed inactive
The second-year wide receiver is a healthy scratch for the second week in a row stemming from his third disciplinarian incident late last week. In his place, Gabe Davis was called up from the practice squad.
Another wide receiver, Curtis Samuel, is also down because of elbow and neck injuries. They are joined on the inactive list by tight end Dalton Kincaid, offensive lineman Chase Lundt, defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis, and cornerback Ja’Marcus Ingram.
Gabe Davis, Keleki Latu elevated
As expected, the Bills called up Davis and Latu from the practice squad. This the second elevation for each player, meaning they have just one remaining. Latu will once again fill in for tight end Dalton Kincaid who will miss his second game with a hamstring injury. Davis will take the spot of Curtis Samuel who is also inactive due to elbow and neck injuries.
The Bills also announced that wide receiver/kick returner Mecole Hardman has been placed on Injured Reserve so he’s going to miss at least the next four games due to a calf injury he suffered in his Buffalo debut last week. Once again, the Bills’ injury woes know no bounds.
With Hardman out, and Brandon Codrington – who was just re-signed to the practice squad – not elevated, it will probably mean Ray Davis and Ty Johnson will be deep on kickoffs and Khalil Shakir will handle punts.
Josh Allen could set record tonight
Only 25 running backs in NFL history have more career rushing touchdowns than Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
He’s about to the the top quarterback.
Allen enters Thursday Night Football tied with Cam Newton for the most regular-season rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in NFL history with 75. One more and Allen will break a record Newton set over 11 seasons with Carolina and New England.
Bills vs Texans weather
Weather isn’t expected to be a factor, with the roof at NRG Stadium frequently closed based on weather conditions or temperature. Any decision on the roof is made two hours prior to kickoff.
While the gametime temperatures are expected to fall within the boundaries of an open roof, between 60 and 80 degrees, the possibility of thunderstorms means it’s likely going to be a dome game.
Time change for Bengals game
The NFL announced Thursday that the Bills home game against the Bengals on Sunday, Dec. 7, has been flexed out of the 4:25 time slot and will now be played at 1 p.m.
This is obviously due to the fact that the Bengals are most likely not going to make the playoffs, so the game is not as attractive as it was when the schedule was constructed. It’s interesting, though, because injured Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow is close to returning, so the Burrow vs. Josh Allen aspect still makes the game juicy.
Keon Coleman expected to sit again
There are reports that the wide receiver is going to be a healthy scratch for the second week in a row. If that does happen, it’s quite an indictment one what the Bills think about the 2024 second-round pick because they were already going into the game against the Texans minus wide receivers Curtis Samuel and Mecole Hardman who have been ruled out due to injury.
If Coleman sits, that means the Bills will be elevating Gabe Davis for the second time from the practice squad, and the other receivers would be Joshua Palmer, Khalil Shakir, Elijah Moore and Tyrell Shavers.
Moore joined Coleman on the inactive list last week against Tampa Bay, so if Coleman sits, Moore was the choice between the two.
When he was asked Tuesday about Coleman, Sean McDermott said, “We’ll see. We’ll see how it goes. Take it one day at a time. We addressed the situation (Sunday). We’re now moving forward. One day at a time and earning the trust and respect of the teammates, and that takes time, so that each day that goes by, you check ‘em off as wins, trust builds. So, that’s the important piece of it.”
What time does the Buffalo Bills vs. Houston Texans game start?
The Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans will play at 8:15 p.m. ET, Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025 at NRG Stadium.
What channel is Buffalo Bills vs Houston Texans game?
This is an exclusive Amazon Prime game, with the exception of the local Buffalo market (which does not include Rochester). In Buffalo, the game will be available over the air on the ABC affiliate, WKBW, channel 7. You can also watch on NFL.com and the NFL mobile app, and if you have a subscription to NFL+, the league’s own streaming service, but in that case you can’t cast the games to your TV so you must watch on your phone or tablet.
Bills vs Texans preview stories
Who is favored to win Bills vs. Texans game
Information as of Thursday morning, subject to change:
∎ Betting line: Bills -5.5
∎ Over-under: 43.5
∎ Money line: Bills minus-275 (bet $275 to win $100) and Texans plus-225 (bet $100 to win $225).
Who is announcing the Bills vs. Texans game
∎ Play-by-play: Al Michaels
∎ Analyst: Kirk Herbstreit
∎ Sideline reporter: Kaylee Hartung
On the radio: How to listen to the Bills vs Texans game
You can listen on SiriusXM satellite radio on channel 226 (Bills feed) and channel 225 (Texans feed), and on traditional radio, the Bills Radio Network has stations all across the state. Chris Brown has the play-by-play, Eric Wood is the analyst, and Sal Capaccio is the sideline reporter. The network includes:
Sal Maiorana has covered the Buffalo Bills for four decades including 35 years as the full-time beat writer for the D&C, he has written numerous books about the history of the team, and he is also co-host of the BLEAV in Bills podcast/YouTube show. He can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com, and you can follow him on X @salmaiorana and on Bluesky @salmaiorana.bsky.social.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Ray Davis scores on 97-yard kick return: Bills vs Texans updates, score, highlights
Reporting by Sal Maiorana and Ryan Miller, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
