The Buffalo Bills are headed back down south this week, facing off against the Houston Texans in a pivotal game for each team’s playoff chances. Buffalo could not only fortify their Wild Card standing with a victory, but they would ensure a tiebreaker over every team that currently sits at 5-5. The Bills already beat the Baltimore Ravens and the Kansas City Chiefs, so a win over Houston would help tremendously in their quest for a franchise-record seventh consecutive playoff berth.
With a loss, however,
two things would be true. First, it would widen the gulf between Buffalo and the AFC East-leading New England Patriots, who are 9-2 with a win over the Bills already. Second, it would drop the Bills to 7-4 and bring the Texans to 6-5, just one game behind Buffalo with a tiebreaker of their own. At this point, the Bills need to stack wins, and they especially need to stack AFC wins if they want any chance at a home playoff game this January.
Buffalo hasn’t won a game in Houston since November 19, 2006, when quarterback J.P. Losman hit wide receiver Peerless Price in the back of the end zone with just 14 seconds left in a 24-21 come-from-behind victory. More recently, Buffalo lost in Houston just last season, dropping a game 23-20 on a 59-yard Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal as time expired.
How can the Bills continue their offensive momentum from Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Feeding their play makers would help, but big performances out of certain players would go a long way towards bringing the Bills to 8-3 on the year. Here are five Bills to watch this week.
_____________________________________________________________________________
RB James Cook III
Cook struggled against the Buccaneers’ stout run defense last weekend, gaining just 48 yards on 16 carries. After averaging 108 yards and a touchdown on the ground per game through Buffalo’s first eight contests, Cook has totaled just 101 yards rushing over the last two weeks. What has increased, though, is his usage as a receiver.
Offensive coordinator Joe Brady has finally found ways to involve Cook in the passing game, as he’s caught all eight of his targets for 90 yards and a score over the last two weeks. Continuing that trend would be tremendously beneficial this week, as the Bills need to find ways to let Jimbo cook.
Houston allows just 3.9 yards per rush this season. If the Bills can come out and throw it a little in the early going, it could soften the Texans up for some quality runs later on in the game. Otherwise, they’ll need to make sure that Cook and running back Ty Johnson, who took a screen pass 52 yards for a touchdown on Sunday, have the ball in their hands in space.
WR Keon Coleman
I’m watching Coleman for a multitude of reasons. Will he play this week? If Coleman does, how will he impact the game? Will his snap share decrease in light of wide receiver Tyrell Shavers’ big game on Sunday? Will the Bills elevate Gabe Davis, as well, which would further cut into Coleman’s snaps?
In Josh Allen’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad outing against the Texans last year, Coleman was one of the lone bright spots, catching a short hook on fourth down that turned it into a 49-yard touchdown. Normally, a guy making one catch for 49 yards and a score wouldn’t be such a big deal, but when the quarterback completes just nine passes for 131 yards and a touchdown on the day, a 49-yard completion really is a big deal.
If Coleman earns a game jersey this week, Thursday night is a huge game for him. Let’s see what happens.
[The Offensive Line]
Houston’s defense is incredible. They’re great up front, their linebackers are instinctive and hard-hitting, and their secondary can stick man-to-man with the best wideouts around.
Buffalo’s path to victory starts up front, and it’s not going to be on just one man. Two players who I haven’t noticed at all this year are center Connor McGovern and right guard O’Cyrus Torrence. Frankly, when we’re talking about offensive linemen, not noticing them is a good thing. They have been fantastic all year long.
The left side of the line has seen some issues, where left tackle Dion Dawkins, while excellent once the play begins, has been whistled for far too many penalties. He’s been handed six false-start penalties alone this year, and he’s been whistled for 15 such penalties now since the start of last season.
Dawkins and left guard David Edwards had a bit of a kerfuffle on Sunday, which right tackle Spencer Brown had to break up after a heated exchange. Brothers are going to fight, but these brothers need to make sure they’re on the same page in their protections, as well. Buffalo’s offensive line needs to clear space for the run game and keep No. 17 upright.
LB Dorian Williams
Let’s see if Williams’ success on defense last weekend translates to more snaps on Thursday night. Williams was used as a mirror/spy on quarterback Baker Mayfield late in the game, and he was very good in terms of keeping Mayfield from burning the Bills on scrambles like he did early in the contest. He knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage in the fourth quarter and also recovered a fumble.
Williams was very good in a starting role last season, and he’s been very good in a special teams role and part-time defensive role this season. While linebackers Terrel Bernard and Matt Milano played better last week than they have most of this season, there has to be a way to ensure that Williams sees more snaps.
He could slot in for Milano a bit this week, but Williams could also end up playing as a third linebacker on early downs or as a fourth defensive lineman on obvious passing downs. He’s a great athlete and a good, moveable piece that head coach Sean McDermott and defensive coordinator Bobby Babich need to use.
CB Tre’Davious White
When it comes to the Bills’ cornerbacks, I’m not worried about Christian Benford. I’m not worried about Maxwell Hairston. Those two are clearly Buffalo’s best two coverage corners at this time. White is still effective against the run, but if he ends up across from speedster Nico Collins (who popped up on the injury report with an ankle injury on Monday’s walkthrough estimation), it could spell trouble for the Bills.
Playing White limits what Buffalo can do on defense, as he’s no longer fast enough to play man on most receivers, so the Bills really have to play zone with him out there. That’s a tell for opponents, and those aren’t things you want to advertise. Could White man up on tight end Dalton Schultz, perhaps? Yes, he could; however, that would likely leave issues elsewhere in the coverage scheme.
White and Hairston have essentially played a 50/50 split since Hairston’s return. I don’t expect that this will be the week where that changes, but I do expect that it changes in the near future.
In a game the Bills really need, it worries me that Tre’Davious White could end up the man in coverage on wide receiver Nico Collins. That’s a situation Buffalo must avoid at all costs.
