Houston, TX (SportsNetwork.com) – J.J. Watt came up with the play of the day,
a tide-turning 80-yard interception return touchdown early in the third
quarter that spurred the Houston Texans to a 23-17 win over the Buffalo Bills
at NRG Stadium.
The Texans trailed 10-7 at halftime and were in danger of falling behind
further after Buffalo linebacker Nigel Bradham intercepted Ryan Fitzpatrick
deep in Houston territory on the opening play of the third quarter. The Bills
got down to the Texans’ 12 when Watt snuck into the flat and made a
spectacular one-handed grab of E.J. Manuel’s short pass attempt, then raced
untouched all the way to the end zone for the momentum-shifting score.
Later on, Darryl Morris picked off Manuel with just over a minute left to seal
Houston’s fourth 3-1 start in the past five seasons.
Randy Bullock helped keep the Bills at bay by booting three second-half field
goals, including a career-long 55-yarder. DeAndre Hopkins hauled in a 35-yard
touchdown pass earlier from Fitzpatrick, who shook off a pair of interceptions
to put up 268 yards on a 25-of-37 completion rate.
Manuel threw a pair of touchdown passes, including an 80-yarder to Mike
Williams in the fourth quarter, but made good on just 21-of-44 attempts for
225 yards.
Fred Jackson finished with six catches totaling 52 yards for Buffalo (2-2),
dealt a second straight loss after a promising 2-0 beginning.
