The Texans (3-1) host the Bills (3-1) this weekend. Houston's coming off a come-from-behind fourth quarter victory over Jacksonville at home, while Buffalo's smarting from a road loss at Baltimore on Sunday Night Football. The last time these two squads met in Houston, the Texans triumphed in a Wild Card Playoff that went to overtime in January of 2020. Here are five things to watch when Houston and the Bills kick off at noon CT inside NRG Stadium.
1) Rev it up – C.J. Stroud and the Texans begin October by facing a stingy Bills pass defense. Buffalo's allowed 165.3 passing yards per game this year, which is the 6th-best mark in the NFL. Further, they haven't allowed a quarterback to throw for more than 180 yards this season. Stroud, who completed seven passes for 20 yards or more last week against Jacksonville, is impressed by the Bills' ability limit explosive plays.
"They don't really give up big plays," Stroud said. "They have some guys who play their system very well. Definitely have some playmakers, so you have to be able to take care of the ball and be able to just move the ball and score points."
Stroud is averaging 271.7 passing yards per game as a pro, and he's atop the league with a 29/7 touchdowns to interceptions rate in that span, which began at the start of 2023.
2) Hello, again – Almost every NFL game features a player or players on each side who will face their former teammates and/or coaches. This week, the Texans will see former coaches across the sidelines like safeties coach Joe Danna and passing game specialist Marc Lubick.
Houston has a slew of former Bills in uniform here, like defensive tackle Tim Settle, Jr. and wide receiver Robert Woods. (Defensive end Jerry Hughes also played in Buffalo, but he's been ruled out with an injury.)
But wide receiver Stefon Diggs has received the lion's share of that pregame attention. A captain and Pro Bowler for multiple seasons in Buffalo, Diggs is now a captain in Houston and has scored three touchdowns this year. His former teammates spoke highly of the veteran pass-catcher.
"He's competitive," Bills cornerback Rasul Douglas said. "So you just know he's going to get everyone to compete. Probably wakes up with a little bit more juice than a regular game. But Stef is Stef. He's a competitor. He's one of the best receivers."
Thusfar, Diggs has caught 25 passes as a Texan for 233 yards and two scores. He ran for a touchdown in last week's win. Stroud's loved the effect Diggs has had on the Texans offseason.
"We kind of talked about that throughout the offseason, just how they would all help each other out by if you want to double [WR] Tank [Dell] one night, then the other dudes will go off," Stroud said. "Or you want to double so and so forth, just basically them eating off each other and really just, I think a lot of the attention has gone towards [WR] Nico [Collins] and Stef and it's been good to see both of them kind of do well as the year has gone on. So, I think they all help each other a lot."
3) Less flags, please – The Texans have struggled in the penalties department this season. They've managed to win three of their four games, despite averaging 10 penalties per game, and committing an NFL-most 40 total penalties this year. The Bills, meanwhile, have half that with 20, which is tied for the 5th-best mark in the NFL.
The coaches and players are aiming to clean it up, penalty-wise, and center Juice Scruggs explained how they're going about that.
"Just locking in and being disciplined," Scruggs said. "Definitely way too many penalties. I don't know the exact number, but way too many these first four weeks for sure. It's on us and we just got to focus and lock in and be disciplined."
4) All in on Allen – The Bills are led by a perennial MVP candidate in quarterback Josh Allen. Since 2019, he's guided Buffalo to 10 wins or more every season, and he's begun 2024 at an elite pace.
His passer rating is 116.5. Allen's thrown seven touchdowns and zero interceptions. He's completing better than 69 percent of his passes, and he's spread the ball around to a variety of pass-catchers. Khalil Shakir leads the Bills in targets, catches and receiving yards this season, but he's been ruled out because of injury. He and three other Bills each have over 100 yards receiving this season.
Ryans has nothing but respect for the 7-year veteran.
"A really tough match up," Ryans said. "Really respect what he has done in this league and how he has grown as a quarterback and how he has led that team and kept them as a successful team every time they step on the field."
Defensive Coordinator Matt Burke described how well Allen's playing this fall.
"He's probably one of the more unique quarterbacks to prepare for," Burke said. "He just does some things that a lot of guys don't do. We've played some mobile quarterbacks and guys that get out and create off-schedule. But he's tiptoeing the sideline and still looking to throw the ball."
5) New look – The Texans will celebrate Reppin' H-Town Day by wearing their H-Town jerseys and helmets with the "H" logo on them. For the first 359 games in franchise history, they donned the helmets with the bullhead logo, and that same logo was painted on the turf at midfield inside NRG Stadium.
On Sunday, the "H" will be on the helmets and the turf instead, and the players are excited about the new look.
"I think it's going to be real cool," Scruggs said. "I'm excited for the fans to see our new uniforms and I'm excited to rock them."
