While we are all waiting for the Buffalo Bills game vs. the Houston Texans on Thursday night, nerves are starting to pile up again for the 7-3 Buffalo Bills. As for their opponent, the 5-5 Houston Texans are also feeling the pressure of starting their second-string quarterback in front of a large audience.
With signal-caller Davis Mills now playing his third straight game, the Bills must be prepared and ready to win.
4 important areas of concern the Bills must figure out to beat the Texans in Primetime
1. Bills short week
While all 32 NFL teams have to deal with playing a Thursday Night game right after playing on Sunday, the short week can be a distraction if the team makes it one. In the Bills' case, this will be their second short week of the season, as they will play the Texans in their second game of the year on Thursday Night Football.
According to the league's scheduling protocol, all 32 teams are required to play one Thursday Night primetime game each year, excluding flexes later in the season. For some peculiar reason, the NFL decided to be generous and let the Bills have two Thursday Night primetime games.
With the Bills coming off a huge 44-32 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last Sunday, they are trying to stay focused on this week's opponent in the Texans.
2. Bills need work on run game
The Bills have had the No. 1 rushing offense in the NFL throughout this season, thanks to star running back James Cook. While he is second in the league in rushing with 968 yards, he probably could have had more at this point if he hadn't struggled during certain games.
When the Bills let Cook get most of the touches in a game, he usually runs for over 100 yards, and sometimes, he'll throw in a 200-yard game too. That wasn't the case on Sunday as Cook only ran for 48 yards on 16 carries, averaging 3.0 yards per carry.
Now, luckily, the Bills' passing attack showed up, as quarterback Josh Allen threw for three touchdowns and ran in three more, totaling six on the day. Also, with troubled wide receiver Keon Coleman benched again, wide receiver Tyrell Shavers and others stepped in and played their role in this "everybody eats" offense.
If the Bills want to keep eating against the Texans, Cook must be fed more and will have to be just as hungry to make plays, just like the wide receivers do.
3. Must stop the run
Not to take anything away from the Bills' passing offense this past Sunday, but they basically won the game as the Bills gave up a whopping 200 yards rushing against the Tampa Bay Bucs, led by former Syracuse running back Sean Tucker.
What's interesting about this is that, statistically, the Bills are near the bottom of the league in run defense, but all year long, it's been sort of feast or famine. On one play, the Bills will give up large chunks of runs of 50-60 yards, but then on the next play, they'll stuff the running back for a 4- or 5-yard loss.
If they want to be more consistent in stopping the run, they will need to find a way to frequently push the running backs backward for a 4- or 5-yard loss while limiting the 50- or 60-yard runs.
4. Injury concerns - get healthy
Yes. Injuries are a part of the game. They are pretty big, especially when you consider how much more athletic these players are nowadays with all the offseason training they do, but in a 17-game season, there is also more wear and tear as the season goes on.
Part of the reason for the Bills' inconsistency in stopping the run is that the defense has been playing with almost a different combination of players every week. Yet the Bills have found ways to win, which is why they are still 7-3.
With defensive tackles TJ Sanders and DaQuan Jones both back at work, this should be a good test to see if they make a significant improvement in their run defense this week.