Josh Allen finished last season in tears and the sight of one of the NFL’s great players sobbing in the Buffalo Bills locker room after a playoff loss to the Denver Broncos led ownership to fire head coach Sean McDermott. That memory of that scene and the burden it put on Allen was buried on Sunday.
Josh Allen played sensationally against the Houston Texans in a stirring 36-31 game this day. And this means stuff:
It means new Bills coach Joe Brady won his head coaching debut.
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It means the Bills have just sent the NFL the message that they remain a Super Bowl contender for 2026 because, well, the Texans team they just beat are a Super Bowl contender.
Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills reacts after scoring a rushing touchdown against the Houston Texans in the second quarter at NRG Stadium on Sept. 13, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (Getty Images)
And it means Josh Allen has already joined the MVP race in earnest after he exorcised the ghosts of his horrible postseason performance and that loss which haunted all offseason.
Allen also made the statement that he can indeed play up to his standard even against the Texans.
“We do like Reliant Stadium, woo-hoo!” Allen exclaimed after the game. “It feels good. It feels good to start the season off right. Obviously coach Joe getting his first win as an NFL head coach … really happy for him. [He] called a heck of a game.”
JOSH ALLEN DELIVERS FULL-THROATED UNSOLICITED DEFENSE OF BUFFALO BILLS’ HIDEOUS NEW UNIFORMS
The Texans had dominated Allen in five previous games. The Texans won four of those and limited Allen to 196 passing yards per game.
Not this game.
Allen played up to his billing this time. He played like he’s one of the league’s best players.
He passed for 334 yards and two touchdowns. And he rushed for two touchdowns. Allen was in some way responsible for all four of his team’s touchdowns, by either running or passing for them.
Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills runs for a touchdown against the Houston Texans in the second quarter at NRG Stadium on Sept. 13, 2026, in Houston, Texas. (Getty Images)
Amid all those numbers, Allen tried to put the focus on others.
“It’s the players that we got, man,” Allen said in his postgame interview with CBS.
“Looking down at these stats, man, our guys made some great plays.”
Don’t believe Allen. He delivered superstar stuff against the defense that was the NFL’s best against the pass last year and was second-best in points allowed behind only the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.
Translation: Houston dominates on defense.
And Allen dominated Houston as the Bills scored the most points that defense has allowed since 2023.
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“We scored 36 points against a fantastic defense,” Allen said. “However you get to 36 points in the NFL, you’ll take that any other week. As long as it’s more than the other guys.”
Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills walks off the field after the NFL football divisional playoff game against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field At Mile High on Jan. 17, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Logan Bowles/Getty Images)
Allen smiling and joking after this game is quite a different snapshot than the one we got from him in his previous game – that playoff loss to the Broncos. Allen turned the ball four times in that fateful game.
He fumbled twice, and threw two interceptions, including interception that set up the Broncos’ game-winning drive.
Allen hasn’t said he lost that game for the Bills, but he has taken responsibility for it. And whether he did lose it or not, the NFL narrative that Allen couldn’t get his team into the Super Bowl grew.
It’s impossible to make the case this was a big game on par with the playoffs. But in recording his 26th game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime – the most in the league since 2018 – Allen reminded everyone that he’s over that past disappointment.
And in this new season he gets another shot at the Super Bowl.
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