There could be no more difficult challenge for the Houston Texans than to face the reigning MVP…on a Thursday night…five days after he did something only one other QB in the history of the game has ever done…all the while leading his offense to a season-high 44 points in the process. Ugh, rough.
Bills QB Josh Allen, aka Superman, and the Buffalo Bills are coming to H-Town and they're HOT after beating the 6-4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 44-32 in Orchard Park, NY last Sunday. In the freakin' shootout. Allen threw three TD passes and over 300 yards, in addition to his three rushing TDs. He did all of that after throwing an interception on his first throw of the game. He rebounded quite nicely to say the least.
But, for as great as he was last week, he was not THAT in his MVP season at NRG Stadium last year. In a week five loss to the Texans, Allen had the worst passing day of his career, finishing nine for 30 in a 23-20 defeat to the Texans. Yet, in the second half, down 20-3, Allen still brought the Bills roaring back to tie the game at 20. But, a Texans defensive stop and a subsequent Kai'mi Fairbairn field goal later and the Texans left NRG with their best regular season win from the 2024 season.
Both teams have similarities to last year, but one difference is that the Texans will be without QB C.J. Stroud and DB Jalen Pitre for this game for the third straight game. The Texans are 2-0 without those two key starters, but going 3-0 without them, while facing Superman and the Buffalo Bills, is going to be as tough as anything the Texans have done this year.
There's little question that the challenge for the Texans is significant, but I can't wait to see them in a massive regular season game against Allen and the talented Bills on TNF. As such, let's get to Know the Texans' Week 12 Foe - the Buffalo Bills
2025 Buffalo Bills Schedule (7-3)
- Week 1 - W Baltimore Ravens 41-40
- Week 2 - W @ New York Jets 30-10
- Week 3 - W Miami Dolphins 31-21
- Week 4 - W New Orleans Saints 31-19
- Week 5 - L New England Patriots 23-20
- Week 6 - L @ Atlanta Falcons 24-14
- Week 7 - BYE WEEK
- Week 8 - W @ Carolina Panthers 40-9
- Week 9 - W Kansas City Chiefs 28-21
- Week 10 - L @ Miami Dolphins 30-13
- Week 11 - W Tampa Bay Buccaneers 44-32
- Week 12 - @ Houston Texans (TNF)
- Week 13 - @ Pittsburgh Steelers
- Week 14 - Cincinnati Bengals
- Week 15 - @ New England Patriots
- Week 16 - @ Cleveland Browns
- Week 17 - Philadelphia Eagles
- Week 18 - New York Jets
Bills OFFENSE (in 2025 regular season)
- Rushing Yards Per game - 147.6 ypg (1st in the NFL)
- Passing Yards Per game - 239.8 ypg (8th)
- Total offense per game - 387.4 ypg (2nd)
- Turnovers lost - 12 (7 INT, 5 Fumbles lost)Expected Bills starting offense for Week 12
Expected Bills starting offense for Week 12
- QB - Josh Allen
- RB - James Cook
- WR - Khalil Shakir
- WR - JOSHUA PALMER
- WR - GABE DAVIS
- TE - Dawson Knox or Dalton Kincaid (injured last week)
- LT - Dion Dawkins
- LG - David Edwards
- C - Connor McGovern
- RG - O'Cyrus Torrence
- RT - Spencer Brown
- *OT/6OL - Alec Anderson
Other Key Offensive pieces
- WR - Tyrell Shavers
- FB - Reggie Gilliam
- RB - Ray Davis
- RB - Ty Johnson
- WR - Curtis Samuel
- WR/Ret - Mecole Hardman
- Italics - Rookie
ALL CAPS - New to team in 2025
Keys to winning v. the Bills Offense
- Time to summon Wyoming Josh - After the Texans beat the Bills in the 2019 Wild Card playoff game, I remembered reading an article about the game in which the author described Josh Allen as "Wyoming Josh" in the second half of the Texans comeback win. What he meant by that statement was that Allen turned back the clock to his Wyoming days when he was a wild stallion, playing way too careless with the ball in his hands. In 2021, we got to see the improved Allen in Buffalo in the rain and I hated it. But, the Texans defense shut Superman down last year and it resulted in Allen's worst performance of his career. Yet, he was named league MVP, leading the Bills back to the AFC Championship game in 2024. In 2025, he's still putting the cape on to put the utmost pressure on opposing defenses. He shredded the Bucs last week. SHREDDED. But, if the Texans can force Wyoming Josh, aka the inconsistent, troubled gunslinger, to come out to play on Thursday night, it could lead to good things for the Texans defense.
- Eliminate the Chef - Talking to my pal, Buffalo Bills longtime sideline reporter Sal Capaccio this week about this game, he said something that stayed with me. "John, defenses are looking to take away James Cook in the run game and force Josh Allen to beat them through the air." Wild, yet the numbers prove that to be totally true. When Cook has rushed for 100+ yards this year, the Bills are 5-0. They've won when he hasn't gotten to 100 yards but every single time that he does go for more than 100 yards, it's a Bills win. He's a chunk run ready to happen at any time but the Bucs held him to his lowest yards per carry percentage (3.0 ypc) of the season. However, the Bills found a way to still get him involved in the pass game (three catches for 66 yards and a TD). He's such a complete multti-dimensional threat and the Texans MUST limit his value in every way possible.
- Your Best v. Our Best - Bills OT Spencer Brown and Dion Dawkins are the best edge protecting duo that the Texans have faced all season long. On the flip side, Brown and Dawkins haven't faced an edge duo quite like Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter. Anderson Jr. made one of the plays of 2024 when he powered through, then around Dawkins to harass Allen into an errant throw that ended the Bills last offensive hope late in the 4th quarter. Hunter, though, has been SUPER hot in the last two games, racking up 5.0 sacks the past two weeks. Brown and Dawkins don't always need chip/double team help, but to ensure that Will/Danielle don't wreak havoc, they may NEED that help. However, when there are true one-on-ones, it's going to be best on best and it's imperative that the Texans edge rushers' BEST is better than ever on Thursday evening.
Bills DEFENSE (in 2025 regular season)
- Rushing Yards Allowed Per game - 153.0 ypg (31st in the NFL)
- Passing Yards Allowed Per game - 169.7 ypg (2nd)
- Total offense Allowed per game - 322.7 ypg (21st)
- Turnovers generated - 13 (7 INT, 6 Fumbles gained - Bills are +1 in TO margin)
Expected Bills starting defense for Week 12
- DE - JOEY BOSA
- DT - DaQuan Jones
- DT - DEONE WALKER
- DE - Greg Rousseau
- LB - Matt MIlano
- LB - Terrel Bernard
- Nickel - Taron Johnson
- CB - Christian Benford
- S - JORDAN POYER
- S - Cole Bishop
- CB - Tre'Davious White or MAXWELL HAIRSTON
Other Key Defensive pieces
- DE - A.J. Epenesa
- LB - Dorian Williams
- LB - SHAQ THOMPSON
- LB - "Buffalo" Joe Andreesen
- DT - JORDAN PHILLIPS
- DT - LARRY OGUNJOBI
- DT - T.J. SANDERS
- DB - JORDAN HANCOCK
Italics - Rookie
ALL CAPS - New to team in 2025
Keys to winning v. the Bills' Defense
- Joey Big Bear is BACK! -Three years ago, the Bills signed future Hall of Famer Von Miller and it appeared, in the beginning, that it was a brilliant move. But, that didn't last long and Miller was jettisoned after not making much of an impact in western New York. So, when the Bills went back to the veteran, long in the tooth edge rusher market, I thought it was a mistake. "Sure, go sign Joey Bosa; it's not going to work." Yet, it's been the perfect signing. Bosa has tapped into the fountain of youth and has tormented opposing offensive tackles when healthy. Texans OTs Aireontae Ersrey, Tytus Howard and Trent Brown have done a better job protecting the edge in pass protection, but Bosa is a different dude. He's more of a Josh Hines-Allen type, but one who can finish with sacks, in addition to pressures and QB hits. He's slick on inside moves. He can still bend the edge. He's powerful as all get out. Bosa is BACK and he's someone the Texans have to send extra resources to shut down.
- Where's Eddie O when you need him? - Sometimes stats lie. They don't always tell the full truth for an offensive or defensive unit. However, the fact that the Bills defense is 31st in the league against the run is definitely the story that the film tells as well. This Bills front has struggled throughout the season, getting moved off the ball and getting stuck on blocks. It's clear that the loss of DT Ed Oliver, Houston native and Houston Cougar All-American, is bigger than most let on. He's so quick off the ball and penetrates gaps so well that he could eliminate a lot of a team's run game success almost by himself. But, he won't be playing due to injury in this one, which makes it that much more imperative that the Texans win up front against the Bills' remaining Interior defensive dudes as the Falcons, the Ravens, the Bucs and the Dolphins all did.
- Bishop over Rook - Over the past two seasons, the Bills took a machete to their safety position. In no particular order, they released Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer, the 2023 starters, named Damar Hamlin a starter, moved Taylor Rapp into the other starting position and drafted Cole Bishop in the second round. 2024 was an up and down roller coaster ride and it seemingly got worse at some point in 2025. Rapp and Hamlin got hurt and those injuries flipped the position over yet again. The Bills had to go out and re-sign Poyer and then inserted the wildly talented Bishop into the starting lineup for good. As a rookie in 2024, Bishop seemed a bit lost and the Texans took advantage of him on Nico Collins 67-yard BOMB TD in the Texans win. But, Bishop is a DIFFERENT dude this year. He's thriving playing next to Poyer who has been the sage, wise Mr. Miyagi for Bishop. He had a pick last week against Tampa Bay.and has been one of the Bills' most valuable defensive chess pieces in 2025.
