Here are my five thoughts on the Buffalo Bills’ game against the Houston Texans Sunday at Highmark Stadium:
1. The Bills must resemble the overwhelmingly better team they are in this matchup.
They’re considerably stronger in all phases. That wasn’t something that only showed up in lopsided victories against Miami and Washington. It was evident in the season-opening loss against Pittsburgh as well. Poor execution and questionable game-planning/play-calling short-circuited the Bills’ offense in that game, though the defense set the tone for the dominance it has displayed in all three games.
The Texans are a mess. They’re playing without DeShaun Watson, one of the best quarterbacks in the league, because of off-field issues that include his desire to be somewhere other than Houston. They have a dysfunctional organization that doesn’t appear anywhere close to righting itself.
2. Josh Allen has found his groove.
We can dispense with the silly speculation the $258-million contract extension he signed in August became some sort of distraction for him, that it either disincentivized him to play at his best or (and more likely) placed so much additional pressure on him that he couldn’t focus.
Yes, Allen is human. It’s hardly impossible to believe there could have been a psychological component to his struggles through the first two games.
However, Allen’s work ethic is undeniably as strong as that of any teammate or player in the league. He has never lost sight of the importance of being thoroughly prepared for each game and has kept his cleats firmly planted on the ground. The guy put in the work in the offseason, before and after he signed his new deal. He’s putting in the work now.
The Washington game was a turning point. Allen got the offense rolling with an upbeat pace and rhythm that became a staple of his record-shattering 2020 season. He fired throws in a variety of ways to a variety of targets, causing Washington’s defense to crumble just as most of the opposing defenses on Buffalo’s schedule did last year.
There was no reason, including money, to believe Allen would be any less effective this year.
3. Another game, another quarterback who has no business beating the Bills.
Last week, it was Taylor Heinicke. On Sunday, it will be Davis Mills.
Heinicke is in his seventh season, but has made only three career starts, the third coming against Buffalo. He showed remarkable toughness, bouncing up from repeated hard hits, but was no match for the Bills’ ferocious pass rush or opportunistic secondary.
Mills is a rookie. He’s playing because former Bill Tyrod Taylor is injured and Watson is, well, in a place of uncertainty. Facing that defensive front and secondary on the road should not bode well for him.
4. David Culley has been put in an exceptionally difficult position.
After many years as an assistant coach, he has his first NFL head-coaching position, which qualifies as reaching the top of his profession. But it comes with a huge asterisk because it’s with the Texans.
Culley spent the 2017 and ’18 seasons as the Bills’ quarterbacks coach. He helped tutor Allen as a rookie.
Culley is likeable and approachable, and knows his stuff, especially when it comes to the passing game. But being in charge of a team with problems everywhere doesn’t seem as the most rewarding of experiences.
5. Perhaps it’s too soon to say definitively, but I think the Bills are as close as they’ve been in a long time to finally having a dynamic tight end.
Through three games, Dawson Knox has been giving the Bills plenty of production and big plays. He’s consistently running good routes and showing superb concentration when it comes to catching the ball. Knox also has been solid as a blocker.
Given how opponents are making it their mission to clamp down on Stefon Diggs, Knox joins a list of effective targets that includes Emmanuel Sanders, Cole Beasley and Gabe Davis.
