Bills vs. Texans takeaways: Josh Allen overcomes Houston defense in potential AFC championship preview

It is only Week 1, but the NFL might have already seen a preview of the AFC Championship Game. The season-opening duel between the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans could very well go down as one of the campaign's most entertaining showdowns, too. The Bills' 36-31 triumph at Reliant Stadium had the feel of a postseason game, and it is only September.

The quarterbacks and defenses entered the game as the focal points, and while the defenses flipped pregame notions on their heads, the signal-callers lived up to expectations — one for better, the other for worse.

Houston's defense and its past dominance over Josh Allen vanished entirely in the clutch. Cornerback Kamari Lassiter had a chance to haul in a potential game-sealing interception in the end zone but dropped it, opening the door for Allen to pull off his typical heroics and deliver the decisive touchdown.

Just over a minute later, a leaky Bills defense that capped the team's upside in 2025 delivered when it needed to the most. Third-round rookie Deone Walker and veteran edge rusher Greg Rousseau sacked C.J. Stroud on the final series, and the latter resulted in a fumble that put the game on ice…

Original source: https://www.cbssports.com/