The Houston Texans were able to get it done against the Buffalo Bills on the Thursday Night Football stage in order to rattle off a third-straight win, 23-19, now rising to above a .500 record for the first time through the 2025 season.
And in the process of the Texans' victory at home against Josh Allen and the Bills, there were multiple big performances from players on both sides of the ball. Others also struggled to find a consistent role, or in the case of one name, ended up being a surprise healthy scratch from the gameday roster before kickoff.
So with the events of the Texans' Week 12 action in the books, here are three risers and three fallers from Houston's latest TNF victory over the Bills.
Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins (81) scores a touchdown against Buffalo Bills
Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins (81) scores a touchdown against Buffalo Bills safety Jordan Poyer (21) in the second quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The leader for the Texans in targets in this one wasn't their star wideout, Nico Collins, as it typically is. Instead, it was rookie wideout Jayden Higgins who led the way with nine targets to haul in four receptions for 38 yards, paired alongside a first-half touchdown to post the third score of his career so far.
While Higgins won't be dethroning Collins as the number one target in the Texans' offense moving forward, he's become a quality complement to him in the passing game following the bye. He's had at least four catches in four of his last five games, bringing in a touchdown for three of those showings.
Jayden Higgins is HERE. Nico Collins running mate for years to come. What a hit of a draft pick. pic.twitter.com/GPENZSHyy6
— big ounce (@_bigounce) November 21, 2025
Now with Stroud on the way back as QB1 for next week, perhaps Higgins’ stock could begin to grow even higher for the second half of this season.
Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills (10) warms up before the game against the Buffalo B
Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Davis Mills (10) warms up before the game against the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Sure, Davis Mills was able to put together his third-straight win as a starter in place of Stroud, but this one wasn't exactly his prettiest compared to his previous two outings.
Mills completed just over 50% of his passes on 16 of 30 attempts for 153 yards, his lowest passing stat line since taking control of the starting job. To his credit, he did put together two touchdowns without throwing an interception, but this offense was extremely sluggish in the second half, punting on all but one of their five drives outside of when in victory formation at the end, three of those ending up as three-and-outs.
Mills was able to do just enough to piece together a win once again, but the Texans offense will benefit nicely once their regular starter is back in the fold for next week.
Nov 9, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter (55) and defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (51)
Nov 9, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter (55) and defensive end Will Anderson Jr. (51) celebrate after a sack during the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
It's hard to single out just one of Danielle Hunter or Will Anderson Jr. for their performance against Josh Allen and the Bills offense, so we'll just give credit to both of them here.
4.5 combined sacks for the tandem on the day to contribute to over half of the eight total for the Texans defense. For Anderson Jr., it was his sixth-straight game with a sack, tying Houston's all-time franchise record for most consecutive games in a sack for a single season, while Hunter tied the team's all-time three-game sack total with seven across the past three weeks.
Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter.
The TWIN TERRORS!!! pic.twitter.com/pu2QL7fSNt
— Jon Gruden (@BarstoolGruden) November 21, 2025
For a lot of the Texans' wins this season, it's been these two stuffing the stat sheet against opposing quarterbacks for their league-best defense in the process. This week against Buffalo was no different, even against the reigning MVP.
Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Jaylin Noel (14) runs against the Buffalo Bills in the second
Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Jaylin Noel (14) runs against the Buffalo Bills in the second quarter at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The Texans have voiced their desire to get rookie wideout Jaylin Noel involved in the offense more as the season's progressed, but that just didn't happen against the Bills in Week 12.
Noel had just one catch for four yards throughout the night for the Texans, along with one rush attempt for five yards, falling behind veteran slot wide receiver Christian Kirk on the depth chart, who had a big stat line himself with a team-high five catches for 54 yards. It was Noel's second week in a row with just one catch.
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Perhaps those opportunities will start to grow for Noel in due time. The talent is there. Against Buffalo, though, fans looking for a big day from their second Iowa State rookie were left disappointed once again.
Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter (4) and safety Calen Bullock (2) celebrate after
Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter (4) and safety Calen Bullock (2) celebrate after defeating the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
DeMeco Ryans said it himself after the game, the most impressive name on the Texans' defense, even with Houston's dominating work in racking up the sacks upfront, had to be safety Calen Bullock.
Five total tackles, two passes defended, two interceptions, and a forced fumble, all of which could really be combined as an AFC Defensive Player of the Week-caliber game that helped the Texans get the best of the Bills' MVP quarterback and remained active in stacking up the takeaways for the best game of his career.
Even without Jalen Pitre's playmaking in the Texans' secondary, it was Bullock who stepped up seamlessly to lift Houston over the edge, and now presents himself as another versatile chess piece in DeMeco Ryans' already-talented secondary led by Derek Stingley and Kamari Lassiter at corner.
onville, Florida, USA; Houston Texans guard Laken Tomlinson (75) before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank
Sep 21, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Houston Texans guard Laken Tomlinson (75) before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images / Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images
The Texans’ most shocking healthy scratch of the night came down to offensive guard Laken Tomlinson, who started for Houston's offensive line in seven games previously this season, but instead found himself on the sidelines as this offense rolled with other combinations.
The Texans decided to instead roll with veteran Tytus Howard at their left guard, shifting him from the right tackle spot. Trent Brown would be the one to hold down the right tackle spot, as Ed Ingram returned back healthy from guard.
This Texans offensive line has seen a fair share of changes this season. Against the Bills, Tomlinson was the one stuck with the short end of the stick, but that also led to Mills being sacked a grand total of zero times throughout the night.
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