Josh Palmer changed the game in one catch. With 1:36 remaining, he hauled in a 34-yard touchdown that gave Buffalo a 36-31 victory over Houston in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.
It was the kind of play that turns a close game into a headline. Buffalo needed one late strike to finish the job, and Palmer delivered it after a night that already belonged to one-score football, with the final margin decided by a single touchdown and the clock nearly gone.
For Palmer, the score was more than a moment in a box score. It was the play that put Buffalo ahead for good and made him one of the week's biggest names among former Tennessee players. The catch came at the exact point when Houston could no longer answer, which is why the touchdown mattered as much as the distance it covered. It also fits a simple early-season rule: in a game decided by five points, one successful snap can separate a win from a loss.
That late finish sat alongside a wider opening-week snapshot of former Tennessee players across the NFL. Trey Smith started at guard for the Kansas City Chiefs and played all 69 offensive snaps in a 31-10 win over Denver. Darnell Wright logged 75 offensive snaps in the Bears' 59-37 win over Carolina. Colton Hood made his NFL debut and played 18 total snaps in a 28-20 win over Dallas, while Joshua Josephs saw 13 defensive snaps against Philadelphia.
The list also showed how uneven a first week can be. Alontae Taylor started against the Jets and recorded six tackles in his Tennessee debut. Jaylen McCollough matched that with six tackles against San Francisco in the NFL's first-ever game played in Australia. But other former Vols had quieter nights or different statuses altogether: Joey Aguilar was on the Jaguars practice squad, Dominic Bailey was on the Texans practice squad, Chris Brazzell II was on injured reserve for the Panthers, Joshua Dobbs did not see any action for the Lions, Bryson Eason did not see any action for the Chiefs, Princeton Fant was on injured reserve for the Cowboys, Hendon Hooker was on the Titans practice squad and Jalin Hyatt was on the Giants practice squad.
That is what makes Palmer's play stand out. In a week when some former Tennessee players were active, some were waiting and some were sidelined, he was the one who finished a game. The next question is not whether the catch mattered; it is whether Buffalo will keep finding Palmer in moments that decide games.
