Buffalo Bills vs Houston Texans Pick

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The Buffalo Bills come into NRG Stadium on Saturday to face the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round of the AFC playoffs. It’s a hard-to-call battle between ten-win teams. Without much to gain, both teams lost last week, but that shouldn’t detract from how hard they fought to get here. For the Bills, this is their second postseason appearance since 1999, having lost a wild card game in ’17. But with a good defense and a successful ten-win season, they turned the corner and look to make a statement in the postseason. It won’t be easy against a Houston team that won their fourth division title in five seasons and now looks to finally make a real playoff statement.
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Imperfect Teams<br />
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The perspective of both teams isn’t terribly optimistic. The feeling is that they had good seasons, did a good job to get here, and now the winner of this game will be a sacrificial lamb to either Kansas City or especially Baltimore. But at the same time, both teams have high ceilings. With the Bills, they have one outstanding dimension with a defense that can control a game—the league’s second stingiest “D” in terms of points allowed with just 16.2 a game. With the Texans, they have a young star QB in Deshaun Watson, who wields two dominant aerial weapons in DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller, along with a 1000-yard back in Carlos Hyde. At their best, they are hard to stop and being at home doesn’t hurt.
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But the lack of optimism on both sides is also understandable. Buffalo has made great strides, and the growth of second-year starter QB Josh Allen is a big part of the reason why they're here. He's a dual-threat type of guy, and he has some legit weapons with backs Frank Gore and blossoming Devin Singletary, along with nice targets like John Brown and Cole Beasley. But it's still an offense that is good for less than 20 points a game on average.
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For all of Houston's firepower, we've seen a general lack of consistency on the offensive side of the ball this season. Sometimes, they click, and sometimes they don't. Watson didn't have his best season, and since week 6, their best point-output was 28 points. It's also worth mentioning that it's quite unusual to have a 10-win playoff team that actually has a negative point differential overall on the season. Their secondary is one of the more-porous groups in the conference, and their run defense isn't a ton better.
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Matchup Issues for Houston<br />
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I think the Texans’ offense could potentially struggle in this spot. Their run-game hasn't been bad, but with it all riding on Hyde, Buffalo could clog that up with all that beef up front. Watson will need to take to the air, where he will be matching up against one of the best pass defenses in the league. With Jordan Poyer, Micah Hyde, Tre’Davious White, and Levi Wallace (questionable), they have a secondary that is not only stout but makes a ton of plays, as well. This "D" can rush the passer and could be tough on a sometimes-dicey Houston offensive line.
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Sure, the Buffalo offense in a playoff road setting is a significant hindrance. Not surpassing 17 points in the last month of the season just doesn't bode well in a postseason context. But the Houston defense isn't really that good in any area. They can be better at home. Getting JJ Watt back could have an energizing effect, and maybe playing a more-subdued offense will be more to their liking. It's just not a defense that one imagines with a real playoff contender. And the "D" on the other side of the field has just been so much better.
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<span style="font-size:16px;"><b><span style="color:#008000;">Get more details:</span></b> <a class="advblue" href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/nfl/matchup/1232775">Bills at Texans NFL Wild Card Match up </a></span>
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