AFC EAST: Bills, Jets get season-opening wins; Dolphins bow
Buffalo's Josh Allen gets pressured by Houston's Danielle Hunter during Sunday's game in Houston. (AP photo)
HOUSTON (AP) — Josh Allen threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Joshua Palmer with 1:36 remaining to lift the Buffalo Bills to a 36-31 win over the Houston Texans in a back-and-forth season opener on Sunday.
Allen had 334 yards passing with two touchdowns and ran for two more scores to get his first win in Houston after losing his previous four games at Reliant Stadium.
The Texans led 31-30 when Allen split two defenders to find Palmer. The 2-point conversion failed.
One play earlier, Houston’s Kamari Lassiter got his hands on a pass from Allen in the end zone but couldn’t grab the interception.
The Texans had a chance to win in the closing seconds, but Greg Rousseau had his second strip sack of the day, taking down C.J. Stroud at the Buffalo 28. Terrel Bernard recovered to seal the victory.
Dalton Kincaid had five receptions for 130 yards and DJ Moore had five catches for 100 yards and a touchdown in his Buffalo debut after a trade from Chicago.
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Buffalo’s Joe Brady started his head coaching career with a win after he was promoted from offensive coordinator following Sean McDermott’s firing after nine seasons.
David Montgomery, who was traded from Detroit this offseason, had a three-TD day in his Houston debut. He had scoring runs of 1 and 18 yards in the first half and his 7-yard touchdown reception put Houston up 28-27 early in the fourth.
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Stroud threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns but lost two fumbles.
Tyler Bass’ 33-yard field goal made it 30-28 Buffalo with 10 1/2 minutes to go.
Kaʻimi Fairbairn’s 58-yard field goal put Houston back ahead with about seven minutes remaining before Allen’s game-winning drive.
Buffalo went up 10-7 when Allen scrambled for a 21-yard touchdown early in the second quarter.
Montgomery’s second score came when he scampered 18 yards untouched to make it 14-10 with about five minutes left in the first half.
Lassiter was flagged for pass interference on Moore in the end zone to give the Bills the ball on the 1 on their next drive. Allen’s scoring dive two plays later put Buffalo up 17-14.
Moore grabbed a ball in front of a diving Reed Blankenship and dashed 43 yards to the end zone later in the second to push the lead to 24-14.
A 12-yard touchdown reception by Nico Collins cut the lead to three at halftime.
Rousseau sacked Stroud on Houston’s first drive, causing a fumble that Ed Oliver recovered on the Houston 32. That led to Bass’ 46-yard field goal.
A 1-yard run by Montgomery put the Texans up 7-3 near the end of the first quarter. The score was set up by a 25-yard reception by Collins three plays earlier.
JETS 23, TITANS 10
Breece Hall ran for 102 yards and a touchdown, Geno Smith threw for 215 yards in his Jets return and the New York Jets to spoil Titans coach Robert Saleh’s debut against his former team.
The Jets never trailed, led 10-3 at halftime and held the ball for just over 38 minutes. Smith, drafted by New York in 2013 and acquired from Las Vegas in March, finished 19 of 24 while efficiently moving new coordinator Frank Reich’s offense.
The game matched franchises that went 3-14 last season and prompted the Titans to hire Saleh — who coached the Jets from 2021 before being fired after five games in 2024 — in January hoping to end four straight losing seasons. The Jets, meanwhile, are trying to snap a skid of 10 consecutive seasons under .500 with Aaron Glenn starting his second season in New York.
The Jets left Music City with their first season-opening win since 2023. A team that opened last season losing its first seven under Glenn and its last five dominated Tennessee with a 367-195 edge in total offense.
With Glenn calling the defense this season, rookie edge rusher David Bailey, the No. 2 pick overall, had one of three sacks for the Jets, who chased Titans quarterback Cam Ward all game.
Glenn deactivated kicker Jason Grupe claimed off waivers Aug. 31 from Indianapolis and went with Jason Sanders, who was elevated from the practice squad. Sanders made three field goals of 33, 51 and 52 yards, rebounding after yanking a 54-yard attempt short and left.
RAIDERS 27,DOLPHINS 13
Kirk Cousins became the 15th quarterback to throw at least 300 touchdown passes in his career after tossing three on Sunday.
Two of his TD passes went to running back Ashton Jeanty, who also rushed for 102 yards and caught six passes for 45 more. This was the third career 100-yard game for Jeanty, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft who showed no ill effects of an ankle injury he suffered on Aug. 23.
Cousins, making his first start for the Raiders after being acquired in the offseason from Atlanta, completed 21 of 30 passes for 160 yards, though he was intercepted twice. He has 301 touchdown passes for his career, moving into 14th and one TD ahead of John Elway.
Cousins is the first Raiders quarterback to throw at least three TDs in the opener since Kerry Collins in 2005 against New England.
The Dolphins, the league’s youngest team with an average age of 25.5, weren’t much of a test. But expectations are high for Miami this season under first-year coach Jeff Hafley.
Malik Willis, under pressure much of the game, passed for 220 yards with an interception. He was sacked five times, with 1 1/2 by Maxx Crosby, who became the third Raider to record at least 70 for his career since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
Las Vegas never trailed in taking advantage of a rare true home-field advantage. The Raiders used a 16-play, 93-yard opening drive that ate up 8:58 to take a 7-0 lead. They had just one TD drive of 90-plus yards all last season.
They led 17-3 at one point before the Dolphins cut the advantage to 17-13 early in the third quarter. But then Dylan Laube returned the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to midfield to set up Cousins’ 13-yard scoring pass to Jeanty to again assume control.

