Grading Every Texans Position Group After Week 1 Loss vs. Bills

The Houston Texans dropped the ball in Week 1 of the new season, as they fell to the Buffalo Bills in a 31-36 loss despite nearly rallying a comeback in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.

Now, Houston starts the new year off 0-1 as they did last year, fall into an early hole in the AFC South due to the Jacksonville Jaguars' Week 1 win, and will be looking to patch some of their glaring holes shown from Sunday in time for next weekend's action.

To see where exactly the Texans need to improve, though, let's grade each of the team's position groups following their Week 1 loss against Buffalo to see where Houston really excelled, or simply disappointed:

Offensive Grades

Sep 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) reacts after a play during the game against the Buffalo Bills at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

QB: B-

Really, outside of the first and last drive that C.J. Stroud put together, his day was relatively positive. He completed nearly 70 percent of his throws for 274 yards and two touchdowns, and nearly led a game-winning drive in the fourth-quarter before a Greg Rousseau strip sack would end Houston's hopes of a victory.

BILLS FORCE A FUMBLE AND WIN 🚨

BUFvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/Ohl9TigVEF
— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

So for most of the game, Stroud was a true positive for this offense. But ultimately, Stroud is going to be judged from how he performs in the biggest moments with his back against the wall. This time around, he came up short.

RB: A-

The biggest success from the Texans' performance in Week 1 stems from how their running back room performed–– and particularly as it relates to how David Montgomery did in his Houston debut. 20 carries, 60 rushing yards, and three total touchdowns as the engine of the offense for the day.

COUNT 'EM 🗣️ That's three TDs for David Montgomery!

BUFvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/iUc7FIoNID
— NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

Woody Marks chipped in all for an efficient nine carries for 42 yards. Ultimately, they made for a solid backfield duo that the Texans envisioned them to be all offseason long, and are on pace to pan out much better than last year's running back room in Houston.

WR: B+

A large portion of the Texans' passing offense stemmed from how well Nico Collins started the year off with seven receptions, 75 yards, and a touchdown. However, the wide receiver room also saw a variety of explosive plays across the day, and even got all five pass-catchers on the roster involved in some way as well.

Jaylin Noel had a big 35-yard catch, Kayshon Boutte had a 21-yard catch for his first as a Texan, and while Xavier Hutchinson didn't prove to be as potent of a playmaker, he was a reliable set of hands that logged three receptions for 32 yards. Overall, a solid showing for the wideouts.

TE: C+

The Texans' tight ends performed about as well as you would expect. Dalton Schultz was the lead pass-catcher for a solid four catches and 35 yards. Marlin Klein had a 16-yard reception for the first catch of his career, and Foster Moreau saw a good share of snaps (44%) to block and record two catches for 15 yards.

The ceiling of how this tight end group performs down the road might just be dependent on how quickly Klein develops into a real threat as both a blocker and receiver. For now, this is a fine output for this group.

OL: C+

We've seen much worse offensive line outings from this Texans' front throughout the past couple of seasons. But when factoring in how well the offense was able to move the ball for most of the day, it's a good sign that this front held up relatively well.

The run game was able to progress well, and especially so in the red zone. And the passing offense was showing to be strong up until Rousseau was left to strip-sack Stroud for his third takedown at the end of the game. So the Texans’ offensive line at least has something to build on.

Defensive Grades

Sep 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter (3) attempts to make an interception during the game against the Buffalo Bills at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

DL: D+

It was a polar opposite performance for this Texans defensive line compared to what was seen last year against the Bills. The duo of Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter were held in check for just 0.5 combined sacks, and Josh Allen put together an explosive day through the air and on the ground with over 350 combined yards.

The best play of the day from the Texans' defensive line actually came from when Jadeveon Clowney got a takedown on Allen for the quarterback's second or two sacks. Moving forward, Houston's top two threats on their front seven need to step up much more than their season debut showed.

LB: C

It's hard to find many positive points from the Texans' defensive performance on Sunday, especially when accounting for all of the expectations that Houston's unit was riding into this season with.

But if there was one bright spot on the Texans' defense, the linebackers played alright––particularly Azeez Al-Shaair. He combined for a team-leading eight tackles and a tackle for loss. Henry To'oTo'o remained Houston's WLB on the field for all but seven plays, as he was taken out in the fourth quarter due to injury.

DB: D-

Brutal performance for the Texans' secondary altogether. And really, it's the biggest lowlight of this team's Week 1 loss altogether.

Buffalo and their passing offense torched this defense for 36 points. Houston missed multiple big-play opportunities between Reed Blankenship's blown coverage on DJ Moore's touchdown and Kamari Lassiter's dropped interception. Two pass-catchers finished with 100 or more receiving yards.

... I still can not believe Lassiter dropped this. pic.twitter.com/2nl6pBjNCv
— Dan Fetes (@danfetes) September 13, 2026

In all likelihood, this will probably be the worst this Texans secondary looks all year for a group that's often deemed the best the NFL has to offer. But this unit is sure to be wishing to have some of those missed opportunities back that led to their Week 1 demise.

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