The Texans' dramatic, last-second victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday at NRG Stadium was manufactured in several ways, including the strong, accurate right leg of elite kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn.
Here are five reasons why the defending Texans improved to 4-1 for the season behind a 23-20 win over the AFC East leaders:
1. Starting with Fairbairn, and the Texans’ offseason investment in him as one of the highest paid kickers in the NFL. It was a smart move by Texans general manager Nick Caserio to retain Fairbairn as a free agent.
Fairbairn crushed a 59-yard field goal, two yards shy of his career-long of 61 yards, as time expired to win the game in the fourth quarter and prevent the Bills from completing a comeback from a 20-3 deficit. Fairbairn became the Texans’ all-time leading scorer in franchise history earlier Sunday, surpassing Kris Brown. Fairbairn made all three field goals and two extra points to account for 11 of the Texans points. For the season, Fairbairn has connected on 11 of 12 field goals and all nine of his extra points for 42 points overall.
2. Pro Bowl quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 28 of 38 passes for 331 yards, one touchdown and one interception for a 97.6 passer rating. His uncharacteristic interception and lost fumble helped the Bills’ cause in the second half, but, overall, Stroud is always more of the solution than a problem. The second-year passer was only sacked once as he regularly scrambled away from pressure. Stroud didn’t have a ton of help from the running game as they rushed for just 94 yards on 28 carries with one touchdown run from Cam Akers, the leading rusher with 42 yards on nine carries. Dare Ogunbowale was held to 30 rushing yards on 15 carries, but contributed six catches for 57 yards on seven targets. After zero penalties in the first half, the Texans committed seven penalties in the second half, including an intentional grounding call on Stroud, that helped the Bills close the gap.
3. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs calls himself an ‘emotional guy.’ He was feeling a lot after defeating his former team, the one that traded him this offseason and has privately said they didn’t need him anymore on their roster. Well, Diggs got the win and the bragging rights. He contained himself all week, but this game ‘meant a lot.’ He caught six passes for 82 yards on eight targets, providing a consistent downfield threat after star wide receiver Nico Collins, the NFL’s receiving yardage leader, left the game with a strained hamstring suffered on a 67-yard touchdown catch. Collins and the Texans are optimistic he could be back as soon as next week.
4. The defense was stout. They made Bills Pro Bowl quarterback Josh Allen look ordinary. Allen completed just 9 of 31 passes for 131 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions for a 56.4 passer rating, one of his worst games since his rookie season. He rushed for 54 yards on four carries, but was largely contained. James Cook rushed for 82 yards on 20 carries for one touchdown, but didn’t break the game open. The Texans were bend-but-don’t-break as they allowed 154 rushing yards on 28 carries for a 5.4 average. Veteran linebacker and team captain Azeez Al-Shaair played after an illness sent him to the hospital on Saturday with severe nausea. Al-Shaair gutted it out to start and record a team-high eight tackles.
5. The pass coverage, other than a missed routine tackle by rookie cornerback Kamari Lassiter on Bills wide receiver Keon Coleman’s touchdown, was sound all day. In particular, standout corner Derek Stingley Jr., a Pro Bowl snub last season, was lights-out. He had seven tackles and one pass defensed and made some big-time plays.
Aaron Wilson is a contributor to Sports Talk 790.
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