Houston, Texas (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Bills will try to bounce back from last Sunday night’s loss the Baltimore Ravens when they travel to Houston to face the Texans at NRG Stadium.
To do that, here are my three keys to the game, plus notes and stats:
1.) Make the Texans one-dimensional
The Texans aren’t the Ravens when it comes to running the football, but they’ll try to have the same success Baltimore did, especially against a banged-up Bills defensive line.
Defensive tackles Ed Oliver (hamstring) and Austin Johnson (oblique) are both out, while defensive end Von Miller is suspended.
The Ravens ran for 271 yards on the ground last week, including 87 of those on their first offensive play. Houston will be without starting running back Joe Mixon, but they’ll want to keep the Bills off-balance.
Buffalo needs to shut the run down, and force the Texans into long yardage situations and being more one-dimensional.
2.) Control the line of scrimmage
Over the first three games, the Bills offensive line did a terrific job of winning 1-on-1 battles and controlling the line of scrimmage. That wasn’t the case against the Ravens last week.
They’ll need to get back to being the team that controls things upfront, which means players winning 1-on-1 battles, better communication, and taking advantage of a Texans defense that is ranked 25th in the NFL in yards per-play given up on the ground (4.70).
3.) Keep the focus where it needs to be
We all know the big off-field storyline in this game is Texans wide receiver Stefon Diggs going against his former team. It’s been thought about and talked about since the schedule was released in May.
Players and coaches have been asked about it all week.
Those kinds of things can be a distraction both leading up to the game and even during the game. Bills players have to make sure they keep their focus on the Texans as a team, the overall game plan, and not let anything with or about Diggs creep into it.
NOTES AND STATS:
