ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bills face the Houston Texans for a Week 5 matchup on Sunday afternoon.
The Channel 2 sports team each gives a key to the game before things get underway inside NRG Stadium.
Jon Scott: Who Else Will Eat?
While the Bills have rallied around the "everybody eats" mantra, Khalil Shakir’s had a fuller plate than anyone so far this season. Through the first four games, Shakir leads the team in targets (19), catches (18), receiving yards (230), and receiving touchdowns (2). Dalton Kincaid’s second on the team in each of those categories, but it’s not all that close. Kincaid has 13 receptions for 132 yards and a TD.
I say all this because the Bills will be without Shakir on Sunday against the Texans. He’s out with an ankle injury suffered against the Ravens.
So who will eat more in his place?
Keon Coleman’s the natural thought (eight receptions for 126 yards and a TD on 11 targets). He bounced back very nicely from a big drop last game to really showcase his contested-catch abilities right on the sideline.
After that, the wide receiver group has been pretty invisible.
Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling have a combined 14 receptions for 120 yards and a TD.
Samuel is the most surprising. He signed a three-year deal worth $24 million this offseason, and offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s raved about his versatility and playmaking ever since. Yet all we’ve seen from Samuel is a gadget role mirroring what we’d seen from Isaiah McKenzie for years — and as ineffective.
It is either ironic or poetic that this new-look Bills passing game might be facing it’s first true test as they head to where they shipped off the man it used to center around.
However you choose to look at it, Josh Allen needs to feed someone more than they’ve ate so far this season in order for the Bills to come out on top against the Texans.
Jonathan Acosta: ‘Next man up’ on defense
While "everybody eats" has been the mantra for the offense, the Bills defense has had to employ a "next man up" mentality for yet another season.
Linebacker Matt Milano was placed on injured reserve in the preseason. Cornerback Taron Johnson went down early in Week 1. Linebacker Terrel Bernard exited the Bills’ Week 2 win in Miami.
To their credit, linebackers Baylon Spector and Dorian Williams have stepped up for the Buffalo defense, with defensive backs Cam Lewis and Ja’Marcus Ingram making plays as well.
But while Johnson and Bernard appear closer to returning (listed as questionable as of Friday), the Bills have a new trio of absences to deal with.
Safety Taylor Rapp went down with a concussion against the Ravens in Week 4. Defensive tackle Ed Oliver suffered a hamstring injury in practice on Thursday. Pass rusher Von Miller is suspended four games for violation the league’s personal conduct policy. All three players will be out in Houston.
Therefore, another group of Bills depth players will have an opportunity to step up on Sunday in the Lone Star State. Potentially, the Bills could have rookies at each position take on a bigger responsibility.
Head coach Sean McDermott confirmed Friday that safety Cole Bishop will get his first NFL start in place of Rapp alongside Damar Hamlin. Defensive tackle DeWayne Carter figures to be one of the main pieces inside with both Oliver and Austin Johnson (oblique) out against Houston, while fellow rookie, Javon Solomon is in line for more snaps. Solomon, a fifth-round pick, flashed his potential with a sack in Week 3 against Jacksonville, and will have a chance to provide more of that pass-rushing ability that landed him in Buffalo in the first place.
The ability to have the ‘next man up’ step up when called upon has been a characteristic of this defense in the past, and will be key again this week against a Texans offense featuring one of the league’s top young quarterbacks in CJ Stroud, and talented receiver duo in Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs.
The Bills need to handle yet another week of injury adversity on defense.
And possibly hope that a trio of rookies make the most of their biggest opportunities yet in their young NFL careers.
Lindsey Moppert: Contain Collins
The former Bills star receiver Stefon Diggs shouldn’t be the only Texans receiver getting a lot of attention on Sunday afternoon at NRG Stadium.
An instrumental piece to Houston’s success on offense this season has largely been thanks to wide receiver Nico Collins, who leads the league in receiving yards by more than 100 yards.
The University of Michigan product currently leads the NFL with 489 receiving yards on 30 catches with two touchdowns through four weeks of the 2024 season. On a larger scope, Collins is on pace for 128 catches, over 2,000 yards and nine touchdowns.
Collins is now coming into this AFC meeting with the Bills off a 151-yard and one touchdown performance over the Jaguars in Week 4. It’s plausible to believe Houston will continue down this route against Buffalo on Sunday afternoon knowing that the Texans will be without their top running back in Joe Mixon for the third straight game.
The Bills on the other hand have allowed just over 165 passing yards per game, which is the sixth-best in the league and have only given up one play of 25 passing yards or more in weeks one through four of the regular season. Buffalo’s pass defense has also only allowed 5.5 yards per pass attempt which is ranked as the best in the NFL.
The Bills defense is going to need to rely on the duo of cornerbacks Christian Benford and Rasul Douglas to contain or limit Collins on Sunday in the same way the pair shutdown Marvin Harrison Jr. and Tyreek Hill earlier in the season.