2024-10-07 12:50:03
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DJ Bien-Aime, ESPN
HOUSTON — Stefon Diggs said the win against his former team “meant a lot,” as the Texans defeated the Buffalo Bills 23-20 to move to 4-1.
This was the first matchup between the Texans and Bills since Diggs was traded to Houston in the offseason for a 2025 second-round pick. Following the victory, coaches and players made clear they wanted to win for the star receiver.
Throughout the week with the anticipated matchup approaching, Diggs said he held “it in all week energy wise” and didn’t bring up the magnitude of the game too much to his teammates. But the former All-Pro was overjoyed that his team rallied around him for the victory.
“We got a dub this week. We 1-0. Obviously, playing my old team, I’m not going to sit here and act like it was just regular,” Diggs said. “It meant a lot to me, and it was reassuring that the guys around me knew that it meant a lot to me, even if I didn’t say it. I try to just keep it poised and treat every week like it’s the same. But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t mean a lot to me.”
The Texans jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the first quarter capped by wideout Nico Collins‘ 67-yard touchdown reception. Collins, who’s leading the NFL in receiving yards (567), suffered a hamstring injury on that scoring play and didn’t return.
But that didn’t prevent quarterback C.J. Stroud from totaling 331 passing yards with a passer rating of 97. Stroud leaned on Diggs to withstand Collins’ injury as Diggs finished with a game-high 82 receiving yards.
“It was huge. I know today Diggs was a little emotional. He just wanted to play well against his former team,” Stroud said. “He did a good job by just letting his emotions affect his play, and he played great. Just happy that he’s happy with this dub.”
Stroud had a couple of second-half turnovers (a lost fumble and an interception) that helped the Bills overcome an early 20-3 lead to tie it with three minutes remaining. But the second-year signal-caller led the Texans into field goal range with two seconds left, and kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn nailed the winning 59-yarder.
What helped propel the Texans to this win was coach DeMeco Ryans’ game plan on Bills star quarterback Josh Allen, who went 9-of-30 for a season-low 131 yards with one touchdown and a passer rating of 56.
Ryans’ defense forced Allen to record the lowest completion percentage (30.0%) in a game with at least 30 pass attempts in the past 30 seasons, according to ESPN Research.
“Really happy for Diggs,” Ryans said. “I knew how important this win was for him. Knew how important this week was for him. … We had to get this one for Diggs.”
What caused Allen’s completion percentage to plummet was the Texans’ pass rush along with their coverage on the Bills’ playmakers.
No Bills receiver finished with more than 50 receiving yards, and Allen was pressured on a season-high 45% of his drop backs. When he was pressured, he completed only one pass for 24 yards on 14 attempts.
“Limiting Josh, man he is a great player. He’s a tough out for us, but it took a valiant effort from everybody. It was a collective effort,” Ryans said. “We knew we weren’t going to get many sacks against him because he’s so elusive in the pocket. We just had to keep rushing and keep the pressure on him. So they did a great job of keeping the pressure on him and our backhand guys, the way they covered, that was the reason why.”
The Texans will travel to face the New England Patriots in Week 6 but might be without Collins. According to sources, Collins felt some tightness in one of his hamstrings following that touchdown reception and decided to not force it.
Ryans said Collins is “day-to-day.”
