Week 11 Game Recap: Buffalo Bills 24, Houston Texans 21

What you need to know

Buffalo Bills

J.P. Losman threw for over 200 yards in the first quarter and found Lee Evans for two 83 yard touchdowns to give the Bills a 14 point lead. After falling behind in the third quarter, Losman was able to rally the Bills. He threw the winning touchdown pass to Peerless Price in the final few seconds of the game.

Lee Evans broke the franchise record for receiving yards in a game, eclipsing Jerry Butler’s 255 yards. He caught 11 passes for 265 yards, and also had two 83 yard scores.

The Bills did not have much success running the football. Anthony Thomas again filled in for the injured Willis McGahee. Thomas was held to 56 rushing yards but he was involved in the receiving game with seven receptions.

Nate Clements had an interception and a fumble recovery to give the Bills the edge in turnovers. After failing to stop the run in the first half, the defense stepped up considerably after the break.

Houston Texans

After falling behind 14-0 to two early Lee Evans’ touchdowns, the Texans rallied to take the lead. But the victory was snatched away as the Bills scored in the final seconds of the game.

David Carr threw an early interception before equaling the NFL record with 22 straight pass completions. He did not throw any touchdown passes in the game.

Andre Johnson was Carr’s favorite target, and he ended the day with six receptions for a total of 76 yards. Eric Moulds did well against his old team with five receptions and a total of 68 yards from his five targets.

Dunta Robinson returned a Losman interception for a touchdown to give the Texans the lead. The run defense did well, but two 83 yard touchdowns were given up to Lee Evans, and the pass defense also allowed a score in the final seconds.

What you ought to know

QB J.P. Losman, Pass: 26 - 38 - 340 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 14 - 0

Losman had the biggest game of his career. He began the game with an 83 yard touchdown pass to Lee Evans, despite slipping as he stepped back to throw. The ball was thrown over 50 yards and was caught in stride by Evans. Losman repeated the feat on the following drive finding Evans for another 83 yard score, but Evans did most of the work with a long run after the catch. It was evident that Losman had permission to throw the ball in dangerous situations. The opening two drives both featured passes from his own end zone. Losman gained over 200 yards in the first quarter. He made an error from his own goal line in the second half, and a pass intended for Evans was returned for a touchdown by Dunta Robinson. Losman scrambled twice for first downs and showed good mobility in evading the pass rush. Losman almost threw a second interception when targeting Lee Evans in triple coverage, but the Texans could not come up with the pick. The Bills took over at their own 45 with 1:47 remaining in the game when down by four. Losman made several good decisions, taking what the defense gave him underneath. With nine seconds remaining, Losman threw an accurate pass to Peerless Price in the back of the end zone for the winning touchdown.

RB Anthony Thomas, Rush: 19 - 56 - 0, Rec: 7 - 33 - 0 (7 targets)

Thomas started the game slowly with only one gain over two yards from his first six rushes. But he did break a 12 yard run for a first down to help set up a field goal try on the Bills’ third possession. Thomas did not see a lot of work in the second half. His longest run of the half went for 11 yards and a first down, but he was held to 56 rushing yards on the day. Thomas did make a significant contribution on the Bills’ winning drive. He caught passes on four consecutive plays as the Texans allowed the Bills to throw short. Thomas caught seven passes on the day from seven targets for a total of 33 yards.

RB Daimon Shelton, Rec: 4 - 12 - 0 (4 targets)

Shelton caught all four passes thrown his way. The most important was a six yard gain on fourth and one to set up a field goal.

RB Willis McGahee

McGahee was inactive with a rib injury.

WR Lee Evans, Rec: 11 - 265 - 2 (16 targets)

Evans had the best game of his career and broke the Bills’ single game receiving record. He began the game with an 83 yard touchdown reception as Losman threw the ball over 50 yards in the air. Evans converted on third and ten on the Bills’ second drive, before scoring another 83 yard touchdown. The second score was due to Evans sprinting clear of two defenders after catching a shorter pass from Losman. On one play, Losman appeared to throw to Robert Royal but the pass was caught by Evans for a ten yard gain. He was targeted at the ten yard line on the Bills’ third possession, but slipped before failing to hold on to a difficult catch on the sideline. The Bills struggled for much of the second half but Evans still added 60 yards to his record tally. He caught passes of 12 yards and ten yards on the opening possession of the half, and was the intended target on the following drive when Dunta Robinson intercepted the ball for a touchdown. Losman did not lose confidence and threw to Evans from his own end zone two drives later. Evans made a 15 yard reception for a first down on the play. The final contribution from Evans came on the Bills’ final drive when he caught a 19 yard pass to move the team into the red zone. The drive ended in the winning score.

WR Peerless Price, Rec: 2 - 21 - 1 (5 targets)

Price was not heavily involved, making just two catches from five targets. But he managed to get open on the Bills’ final drive and caught the winning 15 yard touchdown in the back of the end zone.

WR Roscoe Parrish (4 targets)

Parrish was targeted four times in the game but did not record a catch. He dropped one pass that should have been caught.

TE Robert Royal, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets)

Royal was targeted twice in the game. He caught one for a five yard gain and dropped the second.

TE Brad Cieslak, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

Cieslak caught his only target for a gain of four yards.

PK Rian Lindell 1 - 1 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 6 points

Lindell was perfect on the day. He converted a 40 yard field goal and three extra point attempts.

BUF Rush Defense

The Bills did not defend the run very well in the first half. Wali Lundy and Samkon Gado combined for 88 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the half. They tightened up in the second half and shut the Texans down with the exception of a 34 yard gain by Gado. London Fletcher-Baker led the team with nine solo tackles and an assist.

BUF Pass Defense

The pass defense allowed Carr to complete 25 of 30 passes, including 22 straight to tie the NFL record. But they did not concede a passing touchdown, and Nate Clements managed an interception. Clements also recovered a fumble after Ko Simpson dislodged the ball from Jameel Cook’s hands. Tripplett and Schobel each recorded a sack.

QB David Carr, Pass: 25 - 30 - 223 - 0 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 6 - 31 - 0

Carr began badly by throwing an interception on the Texans’ opening drive. He then started to play well, involving Andre Johnson and Eric Moulds in the passing game and scrambling himself when required. Carr completed 22 straight passes to tie the NFL record for consecutive completions. Carr found Moulds for 14 yards and Johnson for 20 yards on the Texans’ third possession. The drive ended in a 17 yard touchdown run by Wali Lundy. On the following drive, Carr had completions of 12 yards to Andre Johnson and 19 yards to Samkon Gado, before the drive ended in a 1 yard touchdown run by Gado. Carr led the team down to the Bills’ seven yard line at the end of the first half, but Jameel Cook fumbled possession away. Andre Johnson was again Carr’s favorite target and the primary deep threat. Johnson caught a 25 yard pass from Carr on the opening drive of the second half for the Texans’ longest completion of the day, but the drive broke down.

RB Samkon Gado, Rush: 10 - 69 - 1, Rec: 5 - 30 - 0 (5 targets)

Gado entered the game on the Texans’ second drive when Wali Lundy briefly left the game with an injury. Carr immediately fumbled a hand off to Gado but the Texans recovered. On the Texans’ fourth possession, Gado was very involved. He caught a 19 yard pass for a first down and then had a 20 yard run to the Bills’ three yard line. He was then given the ball twice and scored on a one yard run to end the drive. Gado exploited a huge hole in the Buffalo line early in the second half, carrying the ball for a 34 yard gain. He ended the day with more carries and more receptions than Lundy.

RB Wali Lundy, Rush: 8 - 61 - 1, Rec: 4 - 22 - 0 (4 targets)

Lundy had a 26 yard gain on his first run but had to leave the game briefly after hurting his shoulder picking up a blitz. He returned on the following drive and had runs of ten yards and seven yards before breaking outside to run in a 17 yard touchdown. The Bills were unable to stop the run in the first half. Lundy caught all of his four targets for a total of 22 yards including a 13 yard reception for a first down. After he scored the 17 yard touchdown, Lundy saw very little action. He carried five more times for a total of one yard as Samkon Gado saw most of the action in the running game.

RB Jameel Cook, Rec: 2 - 10 - 0 (2 targets)

Cook caught two passes for short gains. The second resulted in a fumble at the Bills’ seven yard line when Cook was stripped by Ko Simpson for Nate Clements to recover.

WR Andre Johnson, Rush: 1 - 18 - 0, Rec: 6 - 76 - 0 (11 targets)

Johnson was David Carr’s favorite target with more than twice the targets of any other player. Johnson’s first touch came on the second play of the game when he gained 18 yards on a reverse. The play followed an Eric Moulds reverse on the opening play and the Bills were not ready for it. Johnson’s first target was wrestled loose by Nate Clements for an interception. Johnson then had a reception knocked loose to end the second drive as the Texans failed to convert a third and eight. Johnson then got into the game with a 20 yard reception on the following touchdown drive. He also caught passes of 12 yards and 19 yards for first downs. He had to become a defender for one play on a badly thrown pass by Carr. Johnson prevented an interception but was flagged for offensive interference. Johnson began the second half with a 25 yard reception; the longest passing play of the day for the Texans. He was targeted four times after that, but only caught one ball for a loss of five yards. Carr overthrew him deep on one pass and Johnson hobbled off the field at the end of the drive. He was able to return on the next drive and appeared to be fine.

WR Eric Moulds, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0, Rec: 5 - 68 - 0 (5 targets)

Moulds carried the ball on a reverse on the Texans’ first play from scrimmage and was heavily featured early in the game. He caught passes of 14 yards and 17 yards for first downs on the Texans’ third possession, and converted a third and seven with an 11 yard reception on the following drive. Both drives resulted in touchdowns for the Texans. Moulds converted another third down situation on the next drive by making a 22 yard reception. He was only targeted once in the second half, gaining four yards before fumbling the ball out of bounds.

WR Kevin Walter, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

Walter caught his only target for a four yard gain. He also ran for a three yard gain to convert on fourth and a yard.

TE Mark Bruener, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets)

Bruener was used primarily as a blocker. He caught the only pass thrown his way for a three yard gain.

TE Owen Daniels, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (1 targets)

Daniels only saw one target on the day. He made the catch for a ten yard gain and a first down.

PK Kris Brown 0 - 0 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 3 points

Brown did not attempt any field goals but he did convert on three extra point attempts.

HOU Rush Defense

The Texans did well against Anthony Thomas and the Bills’ running game, allowing a total of 70 net rushing yards. Thomas was held to an average of just under three yards per carry.

HOU Pass Defense

The Texans lost the game because they allowed two huge passing plays and three touchdowns through the air. Lee Evans scored on an 83 yard pass on the Bills’ first drive. The defense then allowed a second 83 yard touchdown to Evans when two defenders were unable to keep pace with him. The defense did create pressure after that, with Shantee Orr and Demarcus Faggins recording sacks. Dunta Robinson intercepted a pass thrown from the Buffalo goal line and he returned it for a nine yard touchdown. The defense allowed a 55 yard drive in the final two minutes and gave up a 15 yard touchdown with nine seconds remaining to lose the game. Mario Williams lined up on the left of the line for the most part. He seems unable to push off on his right foot properly due to a plantar fasciitis injury.