Everything you need to know as the Bills look to bounce back from their first loss and knock off the Texans!
The Buffalo Bills will look to bounce back from their first loss of the season when they travel to Houston, Texas Sunday afternoon to take on the Houston Texans in a matchup of squads with Super Bowl aspirations. To get you ready for the game, on this week’s episode of the Billieve podcast, we’re joined by Scott Barzilla, who covers the Houston Texans for the SB Nation website, Battle Red Blog.
While the Bills (3-1) have been one of the NFL’s powerhouse teams over the last five seasons, the Texans burst onto the scene last year as quarterback C.J. Stroud enjoyed a tremendous rookie season, leading Houston to the AFC South title and a Super Wild Card Weekend win over the Cleveland Browns.
This year, the sledding hasn’t been as easy through four weeks, as the Texans (3-1) have had to rally late to earn wins over the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears, and Jacksonville Jaguars while getting trounced by the Minnesota Vikings in Week 3.
Barzilla discusses the state of the Texans, including how Stroud has yet to take that next step forward in his development into an elite quarterback, and how Houston has done its best to surround Stroud with elite offensive playmakers (wide receivers Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and Stefon Diggs, as well running back Joe Mixon).
He also shares insights into how Diggs is fitting in since being acquired from Buffalo, the type of offense head coach DeMeco Ryans and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik have tried to install this year, and why, despite the presence of several first-round draft picks, Houston’s offensive line has struggled mightily with penalties.
We also explore how the Texans’ run defense has been susceptible to allowing opposing running backs to run wild, which should be a good omen for Bills running back James Cook. We explore how Houston, which is holding quarterbacks to a league-low 57.5% completion percentage for only 161 passing yards per game, has been able to take away their opponents’ passing game, why Barzilla is concerned that quarterback Josh Allen will be able to exploit the Texans’ secondary, and why Allen should be able to enjoy success connecting on both deep passes and slant patterns.
We close by offering up score predictions as the Bills look to pick up another crucial AFC victory over a Texans squad that has struggled to find consistency this year. Let us know how you see this game playing out by leaving your score predictions in the comments section below.
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The new Rumblings Cast boasts a talented lineup, including Billieve, The Bruce Exclusive, In The Trenches, The Chop Up, The Code of Conduct, Leading the Charge, and Jamie D & Big Newt. You can also enjoy new shows like Unplugged with Sara Larson and The Crew.