Former Buffalo Bills safety Micah Hyde once said, “confidence is a hell of a drug.”
After watching the Bills go blow for blow with the NFC South leading Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, eventually notching a crucial 44-32 victory at Highmark Stadium, it was apparent that the feeling of desperation is just as lethal.
Despite entering the Week 11 matchup with a 6-3 record, Buffalo was about as desperate as they come after suffering an unexpected bludgeoning by the Miami Dolphins (4-7 OVR, 2-2 AFCE) down in Florida the previous week.
Questions swirled around the media and the fanbase.
What was wrong with quarterback Josh Allen and the offense? Can the defense withstand the continuous onslaught of injuries? Is this team good enough to make it to January?
And although there are still plenty of areas to improve on, the Bills (7-3 OVR, 2-2 AFCE) — at least for one week — hushed those doubters as Allen catapulted the offense behind a dazzling six-touchdown performance, while the defense did just enough to suppress Baker Mayfield and Tampa Bay’s comeback efforts.
Now, Buffalo must push to silence the detractors for good moving forward.
The next opportunity to do so is right in front of them as the team must travel down to Texas for a Thursday night primetime matchup with the Houston Texans (5-5 OVR, 3-1 AFCS).
The quick turnaround, in addition to the nuisance of traveling, will be a great challenge for head coach Sean McDermott’s team, especially considering Houston is coming off back-to-back victories.
Add in the fact that the Bills haven’t won a game in Houston in 19 years — a 24-21 victory back on November 19, 2006 — and it’s clear to see that this week’s matchup will be anything but a walk in the park despite backup quarterback Davis Mills suiting up for the Texans in place of C.J. Stroud, who is still in the league’s concussion protocol.
“(They’re) very talented. They’ve put together a good defense with different spots, critical positions . . . the guys are playing well for them, and DeMeco (Ryans) knows defense. I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a football coach. He’s had a good defense there for just about every year he’s been there,” Bills’ head coach Sean McDermott said when speaking to the media on Tuesday.
“It’s important (we stay consistent). It is important — every week, every day — you can’t take it for granted in life and, also in this case, NFL football. So, we’ve got work to do . . . nothing is going to be handed to us. This is a good football team we’re playing . . . number one defense, I believe, in the NFL, and they’ve got weapons on offense, as well. So, we’re going to have our hands full.”
In addition to Stroud, it appears Houston will be without safety Jalen Pitre, who is also dealing with a concussion of his own. Pitre, who has tallied 46 tackles in eight games played, is tied for the team lead in interceptions with three.
As for Buffalo, the team’s injury list is once again lengthy this week as there were 16 players mentioned on Wednesday’s injury report, with the most notable being tight end Dalton Kincaid, as well as wide receivers Mecole Hardman and Curtis Samuel, who were all listed as “DNPs” for a third straight day on Wednesday and were subsequently ruled out for Thursday’s game.
Now shorthanded at the position, it will be interesting to see if fellow wideout Keon Coleman is reinserted into the lineup for the matchup after being inactive last Sunday against Tampa Bay.
Coleman received the discipline for being tardy to a team meeting, something that has happened more than once in the past with the former second-round pick.
Regardless of who is in the huddle with Allen and company, however, the Texans’ defense will prove to be tough as the unit ranks first in the NFL in total team defense, allowing 258.1 yards per game and just 17 touchdowns surrendered through 10 games — the third lowest behind only the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Rams.
Houston is also tied for second in the league in total interceptions with 10 and tied for ninth in the league with 25.0 sacks.
Coming off quite possibly his most dynamic performance of the 2025 season thus far, however, Allen believes that he and his teammates are capable of stacking another outing similar to what they had against the Buccaneers.
If Buffalo’s lead man is able to deliver a victory, it will mark the first time he’s done so at NRG Stadium.
Allen is just 1-3 all time against the Texans in his career, with the lone win coming at home in October of 2021. Last season the team fell 23-20 on the road against Houston — a game everyone would like to forget, and one Allen hopes to make amends for this time around.
“(The Texans) just kind of put the ball down and play. They’re fantastic in the backend, (and) I think their front is great. They’re getting a lot of pressure on the quarterbacks. So, yeah — we’re going to have our hands full. But again, on a short week, just trying to put together a gameplan, watching as much film as we can, trying to develop as good of a plan as we can, and it ultimately comes down to executing on Thursday,” Allen said during his media availability earlier this week.
“I got beat up that game (in Houston last year). (I) didn’t play well at all. Watching that film, there’s a lot of good stuff to watch from that film, but it’s hard to watch. I played pretty badly, so yeah — hopefully we can go out there and play a little bit better and move the ball a little bit better. But, again, this defense is no easy task to go against, and it’s going to take everything that we’ve got from everybody on the field.”
Whether or not the Bills can get off the schneid when it comes to their recent woes in Houston remains to be seen, but if the team can get more contributions from young players like wide receiver Tyrell Shavers, who led all players in the previous game against Tampa Bay with 90 receiving yards and a touchdown, and safety Cole Bishop, who tallied six tackles and corralled a game-altering interception off a Mayfield pass with four minutes remaining in the third quarter when Buffalo trailed 26-24, then the Bills will have a solid chance of capturing their eighth win of the season come Thursday night.
However, if the team reverts back to the shell of itself that trotted onto the field against Miami just two weeks ago, it will be tough sledding in Houston.
The game is crucial in terms of the AFC playoff picture as the Texans are lurking “in the hunt” just below Buffalo in the wildcard standings, and a loss for either team will be detrimental as the season heads toward December.
The stakes could not be higher for a mid-November contest.
“(We’ve got to) just keep doing our job. You know, Shavers came up big on some deep balls and we were able to make a lot of plays down the field (last week), and it’s nothing to my surprise. But, it’s a week-by-week thing on how the offense wins,” wide receiver Gabe Davis said following practice this week.
“(There’s) a lot of energy in Houston. Just alone, I mean the guys on the field for the Texans — they bring a lot of energy, a lot of attitude, and it’s very fun . . . they got a defensive head coach, and I feel like that’s one of the principles there, and I feel like (their coach) did a great job of getting that group together to, you know, set a standard in that room. They’re good.”
Kickoff between the Bills and Texans is slated for 8:15 p.m. ET in Houston, Texas, and will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video.
Editor’s babble: Bills’ games against the Texans are often slugfests. I expect nothing different Thursday night. Many thanks to John Green for his contributions to our blog. You can also find John on Xwitter @JGreen_PRsports.
BuffaloFAMbase.com is sponsored by 26 Shirts
Every Monday, we launch a two-week campaign of a new Buffalo-themed t-shirt design. Every purchase results in a donation to a local family in need. After the campaign ends, the shirt is typically retired. A new design is released, and a new family benefits from your fandom!
