The highlighted matchup for many during Saturday’s Bills-Texans Wild Card meeting will be Tre’Davious White against DeAndre Hopkins.
White didn’t allow a single touchdown this season in coverage. Hopkins put up massive numbers, 104 catches, 1,165 yards and seven scores, and he sat out Week 17, too.
But White said on Thursday that it might not be what it seems on paper. Sometimes White follows a team’s No. 1 target in coverage. Sometimes he doesn’t. The defender suggested the latter could be the case.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a one-on-one matchup. I mean, because, there’s 11 guys on the field,” White told reporters. “Whenever he comes to the left side I have to be on my game and when he lines up on the right, Kevin (Johnson) will have to be on his best game. It’s going to take all 11 of us to try and limit him.”
Considering expectations of White, who had his first Pro Bowl season in 2019, it could be a bit of a surprise if he doesn’t follow Hopkins around the field. White’s comment could also mean nothing and the corner could be the guy still tasked with doing so.
Digging deeper into White’s thoughts, mentioning Kevin Johnson, not Levi Wallace, as the player opposite him, is intriguing. Wallace injured his ankle against the Jets in Week 17 and has practiced in a limited capacity this week. Per White, we could be seeing plenty of Johnson, who was actually a former first-round pick of the Texans, on Saturday.
If it is Johnson and not Wallace, White’s comment do matchup with a bit of Sean McDermott as well. The coach said earlier this week that he has confidence in trotting Johnson out there against his former team.
“We’ve got a lot of confidence in Kevin. He’s had a good season. I think he’s continued to grow; he fits into our defense,” McDermott said.
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