Bills vs. Texans final score: Deshaun Watson's heroics power Houston's OT win

James Crabtree-Hannigan

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Bills vs. Texans final score: Deshaun Watson's heroics power Houston's OT win image

Houston's offense looked dead in the water after the first half of Saturday's wild-card round matchup with the Bills, just like it looked doomed on a second-and-6 on the penultimate play of the game, when two blitzers charged at quarterback Deshaun Watson.

But Watson, who had already willed the Texans back from a 16-0 deficit to force overtime, withstood both hits in the backfield to complete a 34-yard pass that set up a game-winning field goal, pushing Houston to the divisional round of the playoffs with a 22-19 win over Buffalo.

The Bills entered halftime with a 13-0 lead, the second consecutive year Houston had been shutout in the first half of a wild-card game. Unlike last year, though, the Texans woke up.

MORE: Takeaways from Texans' win over Bills

Watson's offense scored 19 consecutive points in the second half, taking a 19-16 lead. He ran for a 20-yard score, threw a 5-yard touchdown and converted a couple two-point conversions, one with his legs and one with his arm. The third-year QB finished 20-for-25 passing for 247 yards, adding 55 yards on the ground.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who had an uneven night, took two horrible sacks as he attempted a comeback drive in the fourth quarter, but a three-and-out from Houston with less than two mintes to play gave him one more chance. He made good on that new life, setting up Stephen Hauschka for an overtime-forcing, 47-yard field goal with five seconds left.

There were three possessions in overtime, including one in which the Bills moved to the edge of Hauschka's range. But a personal foul penalty doomed that drive, and Watson made them pay.

Shortly after an improbable third-and-18 conversion, two blitzers came running free at Watson, hitting him at about the same time. Somehow, he stayed on his feet, scrambled outside the pocket and finding Taiwan Jones underneath. Jones scampered 34 yards, all the way to the 10, and Ka'imi Fairbairn​ knocked through a 28-yard chip shot to send Houston to the divisional round.

Sporting News tracked live scores, updates and highlights from the AFC wild-card classic between the Texans and Bills:

Bills vs. Texans final score

  1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q OT F
Bills 7 6 3 3 0 19
Texans 0 0 8 11 3 22

Bills vs. Texans highlights

Final: Texans 22, Bills 19

8:14 p.m.: FIELD GOAL, Texans. Kai Fairbairn is good from 28 yards, sending Houston to the next round. Watson's heroics on the penultimate play get the job done. Texans 22, Bills 19.

8:11 p.m.: Watson absorbs a couple of huge hits in the backfield, stays on his feet, throws underneath to Terrence Jones, who runs for 34 yards down to the 10-yard line. Huge stuff from Watson.

8:09 p.m.: Houston is down to the Buffalo 44-yard line, inching toward ending this game.

8:06 p.m.: An absurd third-and-18 conversion from the Texans. Buffalo played way too soft, allowing running back Duke Johnson to catch a pass underneath and lunge for the first down. Houston near midfield.

8:01 p.m.: A blindside block costs Buffalo 15 yards, and the third-down magic runs out on third-and-24. The Bills were just about in Hauschka's range, but instead they'll have to punt.

7:58 p.m.: Allen scrambles and finds Singletary for 14 yards on third-and-9. Huge play from the QB, who's been shaky late in the game.

7:55 p.m.: On third-and-12, Allen hits Dalton Knox, who makes a guy miss and moves the chains.

7:54 p.m.: Allen with a wild, deep pass on second-and-12. It falls incomplete.

7:52 p.m.: Watson does well to extend the play on third down, but his pass is dropped. Buffalo will take over on Houston's 30-yard line.

7:49 p.m.: Buffalo loses the coin toss. Houston will receive.

End regulation: Texans 19, Bills 19

7:43 p.m.: FIELD GOAL, Bills. Stephen Hauschka ties it up with five seconds left in regulation. We are headed to overtime, it seems. Texans 19, Bills 19.

7:37 p.m.: Beasley converts a third-and-10, though that looked a bit dubious. Still, it held up after replay review. Allen has 20 seconds left from about the 30-yard line.

7:31 p.m.: Allen with a great scramble on first down all the way to midfield, then he tries an insane lateral because he can't get out of bounds. Eventually it's batted out of bounds by a tight end, but not a smart play by the QB.

7:29 p.m.: TURNOVER ON DOWNS, Texans. Houston runs it four times and comes up just short. Watson couldn't convert a fourth-and-1 with a sneak. Buffalo will take over with decent field position and 1:16 to play.

7:25 p.m.: TURNOVER ON DOWNS, Bills. Allen with another horrific sack. He's taken down for a loss of 19 yards. Houston is nearly in field-goal range already.

7:21 p.m.: Allen takes a terrible sack (intentional grounding, technically) on third down, knocking Buffalo out of field-goal range. The Bills will try to pick up a fourth-and-27. 

7:15 p.m.: Huge 38-yard catch for Bills running back Devin Singletary on the first play of the drive. Bills in business already.

7:10 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN, Texans. A 5-yard catch from Carlos Hyde gives Houston its first lead of the evening, with 4:37 to play. Watson to Hopkins for the 2-point conversion. Texans 19, Bills 16.

7:05 p.m.: Buffalo punts, and Hopkins with a 41-yard catch moves Houston into field-goal range.

6:55 p.m.: FIELD GOAL, Texans. Another Bills sack on third down, and Houston kicks a field goal. Now a five-point game. Bills 16, Texans 11.

6:51 p.m.: FUMBLE, Bills. Whitney Mercilus swats it away from Allen during a scramble. Houston recovers, will start at midfield and has a lot of momentum.

End third quarter

6:39 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN, Texans. How nice of you to show up, Houston's offense. Watson with a 20-yard rushing score, then he stiff arms a man to run for the 2-point conversion, too. Bills 16, Texans 8.

6:31 p.m.: FIELD GOAL, Bills. Watt with a key sack on third down to force a field goal, but Houston needs its offense to wake up for it to matter. Bills 16, Texans 0.

6:24 p.m.: FUMBLE, Texans. DeAndre Hopkins finally gets a second catch, but then he's laughably sloppy with the ball. It gets poked out, and Buffalo recovers.

6:15 p.m.: Houston quickly punts again. Doing nothing on offense today.

6:08 p.m.: A near-disaster for the Texans on the kickoff. Houston returner DeAndre Carter caught the ball in the end zone but didn't down the ball, just tossed it to the referee. Buffalo jumped on it for a score, but the referees eventually rule Carter gave himself up.

6:05 p.m.: A quick check-in on how things are going for the Texans...

Halftime: Bills 13, Texans 0

5:54 p.m.: Not ideal for Houston.

5:52 p.m.: FIELD GOAL, Bills. Allen and Duke Willias can't quite connect in the end zone on third down, so it's another kick. Bills 13, Texans 0.

5:51 p.m.: Buffalo is on the 23 with 30 seconds left in the half.

5:47 p.m.: Allen to Cole Beasley over the middle for a big gain on the first play after the two-minute warning.

5:32 p.m.: The Bills pass rush is blowing up Houston's gameplan. Up to four sacks now.

5:24 p.m.: FIELD GOAL, Bills. Allen throws a bit late to the sideline, Brown does a pretty poor job of toe-tapping and Buffalo has to settle for a field goal. Bills 10, Texans 0.

5:19 p.m.: Allen nearly fumbled, but his left knee hit before the ball came loose.

5:18 p.m.: A 28-yard catch from Brown puts Buffalo into field-goal range.

End first quarter: Bills 7, Texans 0

5:08 p.m.: Buffalo has two sacks already. The second ends a Texans drive just across midfield.

4:50 p.m.: Houston punts away after a challenge for defensive pass interference doesn't work.

4:42 p.m.: TOUCHDOWN, Bills. Buffalo moves down the field with ease, and it's capped off with a trick play. Quarterback Josh Allen gets a 16-yard receiving touchdown on a pass from wide receiver John Brown. Allen had a 42-yard run earlier in the series. Bills 7, Texans 0.

4:35 p.m.: Buffalo begins with the ball following a touchback.

James Crabtree-Hannigan