The kickoff of the Buffalo Bills’ 2026 season gets started on a high note as the Bills are coming back to Western New York with a 36-31 win over a tough Houston Texans team that had the best defense going into this game.
All that Bills fans heard leading up to this game is how Houston’s defense was bound to embarrass Buffalo like they did last year. How Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter were going to wreak havoc. Heck, even how Derek Stingley Jr. was going to be locking down DJ Moore.
However, Houston’s defense found themselves as their biggest liability due to the performance of Josh Allen, who put on a fantastic game against Houston.
Josh Allen overcomes struggles against Texans in Houston
Throughout his career, Allen has historically always struggled against the Texans. This was just his second career win against Houston, and it was his first one in Houston of his career. He's in his 9th season...
Allen finished this thriller of a game with 334 passing yards and 4 total touchdowns (2 on the ground and 2 in the air). He also added 23 yards on the ground, that was highlighted by a 21-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter.
Seeing this type of performance from Allen against a team that he has mightly struggled against in his career sets him up for a second run at the MVP award, which he had won in 2024.
Josh Allen sets standard on the 2026 MVP race
Now, I'm sure that Allen isn't focused on winning the MVP award. First off, he already has one from two seasons ago. Secondly, he is focused on the next best thing that he hasn't accomplished yet and that is bringing the Lombardi Trophy to Buffalo.
At the same time, Allen comes into this season as the No. 2 ranked player on the NFL's Top-100, only behind Myles Garrett (who is now set to miss the Week 5 matchup against the Bills due to a knee injury).
With him having the performance that he did against Houston, he is on pace to not just being part of the MVP conversation, but also being in the lead for it.
I know, it's only Week 1 and there is still plenty of football to be played. However, I'm sure that there were not a lot of people who believed that Allen could do what he did against a Texans defense that sacked him 8 times in last year's matchup. It was the complete opposite this time around, and the Bills start this season on a great note going back up to Buffalo.
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