The Houston Texans have the most pressure to win Saturday’s AFC wild-card game against the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium.
Coach Bill O’Brien made a lot of moves in the preseason which demonstrated the club is in a “win now” mode rather than “win the future” mode that was evident under fired general manager Brian Gaine. In trading for left tackle Laremy Tunsil, they have little assets for the future.
The Bills are not the same Bills of old either. Their defense is their strong suit, but quarterback Josh Allen is also a huge reason why the Bills are in the playoffs as he was responsible for four fourth quarterback comebacks and five game-winning drives. Allen also threw 20 touchdowns against nine interceptions in his second season, and he has shown the propensity to make defensive coordinators go crazy.
Houston will have to get their offense going quickly and establish a fast start if they want to win Saturday. Against the Tennessee Titans in Week 17, that was the second time all year the Texans scored on their first possession of the game.
Buffalo’s defense is one of the very best in the NFL and is very stingy with just 16.2 points allowed per game, the second-fewest in the NFL. If the Texans start out as they typically have under O’Brien, they could find themselves in a 7-0 hole early. Like with the New England Patriots game, where Houston prevailed 28-22 against the league’s No. 1 scoring defense, the Texans are going to have to get creative with their play-calls.
Of course, what Texans fans want to see is a berth in the AFC championship game, but it will take the baby steps of winning the wild-card game first. If the Texans take care of business against the Bills, it will give fans hope that O’Brien’s “win now” gambles are finally paying off.