The Buffalo Bills might have looked like they had a rougher day with the flags than the Houston Texans, but a deeper dive into the penalty numbers shows both teams got absolutely hammered on September 13, 2026. While Buffalo was significantly higher than average in raw penalty counts, and Houston sat right around it, the story flipped when you looked at the yards assessed on the field, where both teams were in a brutal spot. But the real kicker? When “true yards”,which counts yards impacted or negated by flags,are factored in, it was a dead heat between the two squads.
Buffalo’s Yellow Laundry Day
Let’s just say Buffalo had a day. The Bills piled up a massive 13.2 “harm” total for the game. For those who aren’t in the weeds on this, “harm” isn’t just the assessed yards from a flag, it digs into negated yards, lost downs, and even points that got wiped off the board. Think about it: a 10.0 harm total is the line between a good and bad penalty day, so yeah, the yellow laundry definitely crushed Buffalo. Christian Benford’s defensive pass interference call, for example, wasn’t just 21 assessed yards, which is 2.1 harm. It also handed the Texans a free down from second, adding another 1.0 harm for a total hit of 3.1. And honestly, the penalties on Buffalo? They felt warranted. That “too many men on the field” call that nuked what should have been an easy conversion was, in my opinion, the most egregious one. Talk about kicking yourself.
Houston’s Hidden Penalty Pain
On paper, the Texans’ penalty count looked way better than Buffalo’s. But don’t let those surface numbers fool you, because the impact says something totally different. Houston had two flags that individually racked up over 4.0 harm. Kamari Lassiter got dinged for defensive pass interference in the end zone, and that was pure assessed yards, putting the ball on the one-yard line. That’s a true field flipper, a play that just changes everything in an instant. Then there’s David Montgomery’s chop block, which actually had a “negative” harm total. That’s a rare quirk in the formula, where the Texans gained seven yards on the play but gave that up for a free five yards to retain the down. It happens, but it doesn’t really smooth over the overall pain for Houston.
So, while the raw counts might point one way, when you dig into what these penalties truly cost in terms of yardage, downs, and momentum, both Buffalo and Houston really took it on the chin. It’s an early season trend that both teams will need to clean up fast if they want to avoid these kinds of impactful penalty totals moving forward.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Buffalo Rumblings.
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