The Buffalo Bills will begin their season with a massive test when they face the Houston Texans on the road at NRG Stadium a week from today.
It will be a wake-up call for the Bills, as in their last meeting during last season, the Texans beat the Bills 23-19. The team needs to be ready; in their last meeting, the Bills let their usually very mobile quarterback get sacked eight times, and the offensive line must do a better job of protecting Josh Allen when scrambling.
This time around, the Bills look more prepared and want to show off their new aggressive style of play, especially on defense, which was an Achilles' heel for the team a year ago.
Let's take a look at the four key factors the Bills must focus on in order to defeat the Houston Texans on the road.
4 predictions that Bills fans should be hoping come true in Week 1
1.) Buffalo's defense puts massive pressure on C.J. Stroud
All around Orchard Park, the hype and excitement for this new-look defense keep growing every day, given that the Bills defense will be aggressive and pressure opposing quarterbacks more often.
In last year's matchup, the Bills' defense faced Davis Mills as C.J. Stroud was out with an injury. But it was still the same story: the Bills' old-school defensive style was as stale as ever, and while they did contain Mills, they could have dialed up more pressure.
This year, Stroud will start, and he must be ready to face the Bills' attacking defense, which is similar to the Texans' style that sacked Allen eight times in last year's game.
If the Bills can show in this matchup that their defense can attack back and force multiple sacks on Stroud, then it should help make life easier for the Bills' offensive line to keep Allen upright.
2.) DJ Moore opens up Bills' offense
This past offseason, the Bills made a key move to boost their offense and help Allen by acquiring a true No. 1 wide receiver in D.J. Moore. Moore previously played for the Chicago Bears under former head coach Ben Johnson, and before that, he and Joe Brady knew each other while both were with the Carolina Panthers.
Brady was Carolina's offensive coordinator when Moore came onto the scene, posting multiple 1,000-yard seasons and taking the league by storm. Meanwhile, the Bills and Brady hope that the addition of the athletic receiver will help open up the rest of the receiving room to do their job as the Bills look to have their first 1,000+ yard receiver since Stefon Diggs in 2023.
3.) Bills' tight end room makes major impact
In a forward-thinking move, the Bills decided to go big by forgoing a traditional fullback and keeping a fourth tight end on the roster. By releasing Ben VanSumeran, the Bills kept second-year tight end Keleki Latu as their fourth tight end.
The league this year is trending toward tight-end usage, especially in 12- or 13-personnel. The Bills ran three tight ends more than any other team, besides the Los Angeles Rams, last season.
Choosing to keep the fourth tight end instead of the fullback opens up room for Allen to be able to throw to his wide receivers more. The team can use one of their tight ends, most likely Jackson Hawes, as their short-yardage fullback and also on their short-yardage tush push play.
4.) James Cook picks up where he left off in 2025
Last season, the Bills had the league's rushing champ in James Cook, who posted 1,621 yards rushing during the Bills' change to a ground-and-pound offense.
While the Bills plan to be more balanced between the run and the pass, the team should definitely focus more on the ground game. Houston's pass rush has been too much for Allen to handle, and last year, they failed to run the ball effectively despite trying to get the ground game going.
If Cook can run for over 100 yards in this game and the offensive line can neutralize Will Anderson Jr. on the other side, then the Bills should leave the game 1-0 on the season.
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