It doesn’t get much better than this to start the season.
The Buffalo Bills travel to Houston to face the Texans in a matchup between two legitimate AFC contenders. Buffalo enters as a slight favorite, with the line hovering around Bills -1.5.
Bills Resume Check
Buffalo already had one of the NFL’s best offenses.
Now Josh Allen has DJ Moore.
Moore gives Buffalo the true No. 1 receiver it has been missing, joining James Cook, Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid in an offense that finished fourth in scoring last season.
But Houston has been Allen’s nightmare.
He’s 0-4 in Houston, and the Texans sacked him eight times when these teams met last season.
Texans Resume Check
Houston’s defense could be special.
Will Anderson Jr., Danielle Hunter, Azeez Al-Shaair, Derek Stingley Jr., Kamari Lassiter, Jalen Pitre and Calen Bullock give DeMeco Ryans elite talent at every level.
The Texans already had the NFL’s No. 1 defense last season, and they added even more talent during the offseason.
Offensively, this is a huge season for C.J. Stroud. Houston upgraded its offensive line and added David Montgomery, but losing Jayden Higgins to a torn ACL hurts the receiving corps.
How Buffalo Wins
Protect Josh Allen.
If Buffalo can prevent Anderson and Hunter from destroying the pocket, Allen should have opportunities to create explosive plays with Moore.
The Bills also need James Cook involved early after he led the NFL with 1,621 rushing yards last season.
How Houston Wins
Do exactly what it did last year.
Pressure Allen, force turnovers and make Buffalo put together long drives instead of giving up explosive plays.
Stroud doesn’t need to carry Houston. If the offense can score around 24 points, this defense can do the rest.
Prediction
I love Buffalo’s addition of DJ Moore.
But this is probably the worst possible defense for Buffalo to face in Week 1.
Houston’s pass rush gets to Allen multiple times, Stingley and the secondary limit the explosive plays, and Stroud makes enough throws late to get it done.
Texans 24, Bills 21
