The Buffalo Bills have held on for a 30-21 win over the Houston Texans, securing their first win in three games in the NFL.
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The Bills forced the visitors to punt on the opening drive of the game before Tyrod Taylor connected with Sammy Watkins on the home side's first possession, leaving the wide receiver to run down the sideline for the touchdown.
Chris Polk got Houston in a strong field possession as their offense came back onto the field, before Brian Hoyer tossed the ball to tight end Ryan Griffin in the corner of the endzone.
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Taylor attempted to find Watkins again on the next possession, but the second-year receiver could not complete the catch, leaving the quarterback to run the ball in himself a couple of plays later.
Polk proved difficult to tackle again towards the end of the second quarter as the running back shoved a couple of defensive players away to muscle into the endzone, leaving Houston just a point behind.
The AFC East side opened up the lead again before the interval as Robert Woods managed to lose his defender with a run into the endzone, leaving him open for Taylor to pass to.
Buffalo had the ball first in the second half, with LeSean McCoy getting the ball into Houston's half with a couple of runs, but Taylor's pass for Chris Hogan, who was looking for the fourth touchdown of the day for the home side, was overthrown.
Having trailed since the start of the first quarter, the Texans got back on level terms at the start of the fourth, as DeAndre Hopkins hauled in a 23-yard reception before collecting a 19-yard throw from Hoyer a couple of plays later for the touchdown, while a two point conversion was successful.
Both teams punted twice as the defenses tightened up, knowing that the next score could be vital, but the home side broke the deadlock inside the final two minutes when Taylor spotted Charles Clay wide open, gifting the tight end to collect a short catch before running into the endzone.
A missed extra point from Dan Carpenter meant Houston only needed one score to win, but the kicker made amends for his miss with a field goal later in the quarter, sealing the win for the AFC East side.
The result leaves the Bills third in the AFC West with a 6-6 record, while the Texans are also 6-6 this season.
Sian Cowper
