The Bills Blog

The 7-3 Buffalo Bills visit the 5-5 Houston Texans in a Thursday night showdown.

The Buffalo Bills are coming off of a key win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and will look to continue their success against a hungry and defensively sound Houston Texans team.

In order for the Bills to win this one, they’ll need to control the game offensively and not allow the Texan’s D to wreck their momentum. The Bills need to control time of possession, limit punts and absolutely cannot turn the ball over. I’d like to see the Bills cash in on Redzone trips and find ways to get 7 rather than 3. James Cook was quiet last week vs Tampa on the ground and I expect him to bounce back. If the Bills can establish their methodical brand of football and march down the field with a balanced attack, they should come out on top in this one. Josh Allen will have a tough test on his hands with this Demeco Ryans lead defense. They’ll look to pressure him often, get him on the ground and force him into making tough throws that result in turnovers. Josh is 0-2 in Houston and they really limited him in their matchup last year. I expect Josh to be ready to go, and make the right decisions in this one to lead the team to a win.

The Bills D needs to stop the run to have a chance. It’s the key characteristic that has defined this unit and plagued them all year long. They need to make it a point of emphasis not to give up big plays on the ground and force backup QB Davis Mills to beat them with his arm.

The Texans are without starting QB CJ Stroud, a big loss for their offense. Despite his injury, the Bills are in no place to take the Texans lightly. They need to come out prepared and execute in all three phases. Davis Mills is 2-0 as a starter this season and the Texans are fighting to stay in the AFC playoff race. They’ll look to establish themselves defensively to aid their banged up offense, while trusting Mills to make key plays when needed.

Unfortunately, I think this one ends up being tighter than I would’ve hoped and I’ll take the Bills to win 27-24.