Texans' defense thumps Bills, stakes claim as league's best - ESPN

HOUSTON — The Texans had the No. 1-ranked defense coming into Thursday night and showed why in their 23-19 win over the Buffalo Bills.

The matchup was a battle of one of the best offenses versus the best defense. Led by the reigning MVP in quarterback Josh Allen, the Bills were fourth in points per game (29.2) and coming off a 44-32 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which Allen accounted for six touchdowns. And Houston's defense came in allowing the fewest points (16.4) and yards (258) per game.

But the Texans' defense stifled the Bills' offense, sacking Allen eight times, a career high for the Buffalo quarterback, and Houston safety Calen Bullock forced three turnovers (two interceptions and a forced fumble), including the game-ending pick.

Houston's defensive players didn't hold back their thoughts about where this unit stands against the rest of the league after another stout performance.

«We definitely got the best defense in the league,» Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair said." You just got to put it on tape every day."

The Texans' sack total matched a single-game franchise record. The two other times were Week 12 versus the Tennessee Titans in 2024 and Week 17 against the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016. Houston pressured Allen on 15 of his 45 dropbacks (33%) and allowed only two completions and one first down on those 15 plays.

Bullock had the first multi-interception outing of his career. None was bigger than his pick on fourth-and-6 with 24 seconds remaining, and that came after the defense allowed the Bills to convert on a fourth-and-27 with a hook-and-lateral, marking the longest fourth-down conversion by any team in the fourth quarter of a one-score game since 2012.

Coach DeMeco Ryans said the emotions were