HOUSTON — The Buffalo Bills opened the season with a 36-31 victory over the Houston Texans in Houston, their seventh season-opening win in the last 10 seasons and their first win in the city since 2006 after losing their last four meetings there. The result gave head coach Joe Brady the first win of his young coaching career as Buffalo now faces a short week before opening its new Highmark Stadium Thursday night against the Detroit Lions.
Brady addressed the media Monday and said the team is still learning its identity and playing style. "have a pulse, but you're still trying to get a feel of how to use guys offensively, defensively, special teams, and to see the guys be able to make the adjustments; to see the guys be able to look through it all, be able to kind of play all the way through inside the red zone and figuring out, that's what I was proud of," Brady said.
Brady reflected on several individual performances from the opener. He discussed the impact wide receiver DJ Moore made in his Bills debut and tight end Dalton Kincaid's huge performance, the emotional return to Houston for defensive tackle Ed Oliver and why Oliver deserved a game ball, and how well the offensive line performed against a dominant Houston pass rush.
Defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard outlined his plan to limit snap counts for some defensive starters and pointed to a dominant Week 1 showing from the pass rush led by Greg Rousseau. Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael detailed the blossoming connection between Kincaid and quarterback Josh Allen and how Buffalo successfully used 13 personnel — one running back, three tight ends — to stymie the Texans.