Week Five saw the Houston Texans play their second straight game which came down to the final minute.

Ka’imi Fairbairn nailed a 59-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Texans past the Bills 23-20 to help Houston improve to 4-1 on the season.

There were plenty of takeaways from this game, so let’s break down three of them as we look back on the Texans’ thrilling win.

1 The Texans Offense Can Hold Up Without Nico Collins

Texans superstar wide receiver Nico Collins left the game with a hamstring injury following his 67-yard touchdown catch and unfortunately, that would be the last time Houston saw the end zone.

Luckily for the Texans, the three field goals they managed the rest of the way would be enough to hold on for the win.

Nico Collins’s absence was noticeable but the Texans were still able to move the ball during his absence.

CJ Stroud spread the ball out more in the second half without Collins throwing for 331 yards on the day with eight different receivers having multiple catches.

Stefon Diggs who was playing with the emotions of going against his former team had six catches for 82 yards stepping up as WR1 in Nico Collins’ absence.

Diggs and Tank Dell will have to step up as elite wide receivers if Collins’ hamstring keeps him out moving forward.

2 Ka’imi Fairbairn Is One Of If Not The Best Kicker In The NFL

It’s safe to say Texans fans have been a little spoiled by the kicking of Ka’imi Fairbairn over the years.

Fairbairn became the Texans’ all-time leading scorer with his 47-yard field goal early in the third quarter.

The Hawaii native followed that by stepping up with the game on the line knocking down a 59-yarder for the win and his third field goal of the day.

Fairbairn is now 8-9 on the year and continues to hit consistently from long range helping the Texans offense put up points.
With the kicking game in the NFL becoming so inconsistent, Fairbairn is certainly becoming one of the position’s best.

3 The Houston Defense Showed It Can Be Elite

Anytime you’re playing Josh Allen and the Bills, you never really want him to throw the ball more but that is the position Houston found themselves in on Sunday.

Josh Allen finished just 9/30 with a QBR of 55.3 in one of the worst games in his dominant career.

Other than the 3rd quarter where Buffalo scored 14 points, the Texan’s defense held the Bills to just two field goals the rest of the game.

When it mattered most, the Texans’ defense got it done. In the 4th quarter, The Bills’ longest drive was just five plays.

Following a Tommy Towsend punt that pinned the Bills to their own three-yard line, the Texans defense forced a three and out which eventually set up the game-winning field goal.

It wasn’t perfect, the run stop was an issue at times and when the Bills got going in the 3rd, it looked like it would be deadly. However, the Texans defense made clutch plays when they needed to and if that can continue, they will be in good shape.