Josh Allen delivers more late drama for the Buffalo Bills, Derrick Henry stars for the Baltimore Ravens and the Chicago Bears flex their scoring power on a wild opening Sunday of the 2026 NFL season. Welcome to the weekend review... The Josh Allen experience is back with a vengeance.
Perennial thrill, unyielding adventure, eternal tenterhooks - the knife-edge epitome of everything we've so dearly missed about this wonderful game called football. The Buffalo Bills quarterback positioned himself front and centre to a box office finish on the NFL's opening Sunday of the 2026 season, flirting with catastrophe before playing hero just seconds later to lead his side to a 36-31 win over the Houston Texans. Kamari Lassiter should have iced the game for Houston inside the final two minutes when Allen gift-wrapped a would-be interception to the Texans cornerback, who failed to hold onto the ball while back-pedalling in his own end zone.
How quickly he learned not to grant Josh Allen a second life. On the very next play Allen would connect with Joshua Palmer for a 34-yard touchdown on third-and-11 to put Buffalo on top with 1.36 remaining. Jim Leonhard's new-look Bills defense handled business from there, Greg Rousseau forcing a fumble from CJ Stroud and Terrel Bernard pouncing on the loose ball to call game in the final seconds.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player The camera quickly panned to Allen's beaming smile on the sidelines as the Bills quarterback resumed the never-ending Super Bowl quest that continues to dictate the pre-season, in-season and, such has been his playoff agony, post-season narrative. Every year is his year, until it isn't, yet the vicious cycle never fails to convince us that his Lombardi lift is just around the corner. It is moments like Sunday that reinforce the concept, Allen's association with the dramatic fuelling Buffalo's unwavering contention with him at the helm.
The Texans had been purring with fresh optimism, their offence hanging in a shoot-out with what is consistently one of the league's best units, C.J. Stroud going toe-to-toe with Allen, until the latter had seen enough. It is daggers like Sunday's, and closing moments like those, that define Allen - underlining an ability to strap a team to his back in a manner few other quarterbacks in the league can attest to.
He is back like never before, piloting a side determined to cash in on his prime this offseason by firing Sean McDermott and subsequently replacing offensive coordinator Joe Brady with a new head coach. Allen finished Sunday 20 of 29 for 334 yards and two touchdown passes to Palmer and newest receiver DJ Moore, while also rushing for two scores to lift his career tally of ground scores to 81. The Bills are coming off their fourth divisional-round defeat in five years following January's loss to the Denver Broncos, having also been beaten at two AFC Championship Games since 2020.
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