Can they do better this time?
The NFL postseason is here and we are opening it with a wildcard round matchup in Houston. Texans will host the Bills, after beating the Tennessee Titans for the AFC South title. Under Bill O'Brien, Texans had several trips into the postseason but failed to get far. In fact, they won only one game in their 3 playoff appearances. And even that one wasn't that impressive, considering that the Raiders were forced to start Connor Cook in that game after Derek Carr getting injured late in the regular season. Getting eliminated early once again might put some heat under Coach O'Brien's seat.
When we look at the injury report, there are some great news and some that are not that great. JJ Watt is ready to go and will have a role in this game. On the other hand, Tashuan Gipson injured his back which ended his season. He might not be a big name, but a free safety position is very important when playing against a team like Buffalo. Allen has arguably the biggest arm in the league and some speedsters on the outside, making a good free safety that plays deep middle a very valuable piece. Another important information is that Will Fuller IV is not at his 100% yet and his participation is questionable. This might be important because Bills are very aggressive defensively. A deep threat like Fuller would force the safeties to back off and change the entire dynamic of this game.
67%
In Buffalo, they are slowly climbing up after year of irrelevance. General manager Brandon Beane and coach Sean McDermott took over the reins in 2017 and started to build this team form the ground up. They struck some immediate success in 2017, reaching the playoffs as a 6th seed in the AFC and are returning to the postseason, after a bad 2018, which they spent to develop their young QB. And it paid off. Josh Allen was a very raw prospect when he was drafted 7th overall in 2018 out of Wyoming, but he had a great sophomore year, showing a lot of improvement.
I don't think that the public is taking them seriously enough. McDermott's teams always play with a lot of energy, especially on defensive side of the ball. I can see them making some plays today and getting their offense in good field positions. And after so many years, Buffalo finally has an offense that could take advantage of that. Allen has a cannon in his right arm and he is an exceptional athlete which can run really well for a man of his size and I doubt he'll be hesitant about it in his playoff debut. There are few players on injury report, but all of them seem to be on the right side of the questionable tag, after getting in limited practices throughout the week. Getting Levi Wallace back would be a huge boost, because it seems that they are not planing to shadow Hopkins with Tre'Davius White. It means they need a solid corner play on both sides of the defense and in the slot, considering that Houston is lining him up all over the place.
Texans vs Bills best bet
In the playoffs, it is very difficult to hide your weaknesses. That is why I believe that Buffalo's run defense will get exposed in this one. Allowing 4.3 yards per carry throughout the season is simply not good enough, Especially, if you're not elite in other areas of the game to compensate for it. They will struggle to keep Carlos Hyde in check, which should lead to some play-action opportunities and the deep passing game that Houston loves so much.
Josh Allen can play that game as well, especially against wounded Houston secondary, but presence of JJ Watt might change everything. He is a blue-chip guy that eats double-teams and allow the other players in that front seven to get one on one matchups. That is why he is a difference-maker and could be the X-factor that will decide this game in Texans' favor.
