Deshaun Watson threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in regulation and then led the winning drive in overtime as the Texans added another comeback to Houston playoff history by rallying from a double-digit second-half deficit for a 22-19 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the playoffs Saturday.
Both teams had to punt on their first possessions of overtime. On Houston’s next drive, Watson evaded a sack by wriggling away from one defender and bouncing off another before rolling out to find Taiwan Jones for a 34-yard reception to set up first-and-goal.
Ka’imi Fairbairn then kicked a 28-yard field goal to lift Houston to the victory.
The Texans scored 19 straight points to take the lead before Steven Hauschka’s 47-yard field goal tied it with 5 seconds left to force overtime.
The win gives the Texans their first playoff victory since the 2016 season and extends Buffalo’s post-season losing streak to six games, with their most recent playoff win coming in 1995. It’s the first wild-card overtime game since the Broncos beat the Steelers 29-23 in the 2011 season.
The game conjured memories of another huge comeback in a wild-card game. The last time teams from Houston and Buffalo met in the playoffs it was in a game that is known as “The Comeback.” The Bills set an NFL record for the largest comeback in NFL history by rallying from a 32-point deficit for a 41-38 overtime win against the Houston Oilers in a wild-card game in 1993.
This time Josh Allen and the Bills used a dominant first half to build a 13-point lead and were up 16-0 in the third quarter.