Saturday’s wild-card bout between the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills will be a reunion of sorts.
Former Texans cornerback Kevin Johnson will visit his former place of employment for the first time since Houston released him early in the 2019 offseason. The Texans made him a first-round selection out of Wake Forrest in 2015, but he never became the lock down cornerback they longed for.
The Bills picked up Johnson after his release by the Texans. Now entering the playoff matchup, there is a real possibility that he may start on Saturday in place of injured starter Levi Wallace, who suffered an ankle injury in Week 17.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in Kevin,” Bills coach Sean McDermott told Buffalo media on Wednesday. “He’s had a good season. I think he’s continued to grow; he fits into our defense.”
Johnson missed 29 games with the Texans in four seasons. In Western New York, his troubling lack of availability didn’t follow. He played in 16 games and started one. According to Pro Football Reference, he did not allow a touchdown in the regular season after seeing 44 targets go his way. His 79.8 passer rating allowed in coverage is a massive improvement over the 139.6 allowed in 2018, when he gave up two touchdowns on five targets.
“Kevin’s playing really well,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said on Monday. “Playing really well, he’s healthy. He does a really job of transitioning, he does a good job of ball hawking, he’s playing on special teams. He’s doing a lot of things for Buffalo and doing a good job.”
McDermott says Johnson’s past with the Texans won’t factor into the game plan, no matter if he starts or not.
“No, I don’t think so,” McDermott said in response of if Johnson’s past with the Texans will help. “We just got to come out and play good solid defense, and they’re good offense. A lot of playmakers on their offense.”
Saturday’s reunion could either be a good thing or bad thing, depending on which side you root for.