4 bold predictions for Buffalo Bills' Week 5 clash vs. Houston Texans

It’s a new week for the Buffalo Bills, who will be traveling down south for a matchup against the Houston Texans. It’s Josh Allen vs. C.J. Stroud, and former Bill Stefon Diggs will face his old squad. It should be an exciting matchup between two teams whose Super Bowl windows are open.

The Bills suffered their first loss of the season in Week 4 at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens, losing 35-10. The Texans bounced back in Week 4, winning 24-20 over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The week prior, they were crushed by the Minnesota Vikings, 34-7.

This matchup has been circled on calendars simply because of the fact that we will know if the Bills made the right choice to trade Diggs away. However, this cannot be an emotional game for Buffalo. They need to get back on track after getting embarrassed last week.

As Buffalo prepares to head down to Houston, fans should expect to see a way different outing than last week. With that, we take a look at four bold predictions for the Bills going up against the Texans.

Bills defense limits C.J. Stroud to under 200 passing yards

Through four games so far, the Bills have only allowed 200+ passing yards in one game (Miami Dolphins). Sean McDermott and Bobby Babich have done an excellent job at not giving up big passing plays. However, Stroud has a case to be the best quarterback the Bills will have to face and that could be trouble for this secondary.

Stroud has thrown for no less than 215 yards in a game this season (averaging 263 yards a game). When he has weapons like Stefon Diggs, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, and even Dalton Schultz, it is very hard to not throw for over 200 yards. However, Stroud hasn’t faced a defense quite like Buffalo. While they may not be the most talented, they are well coached and play great situational football.

Josh Allen avoids getting sacked

The Texans have 14 sacks in the first month of the season, with Will Anderson Jr. leading the team with 2.5 sacks. This defense knows how to get to the quarterback, or atleast create pressure and force mistakes.

On the other hand, Josh Allen has been well protected by his offensive line, only having been sacked five times through four games. The Bills’ offensive line was bullied from start to finish last week against the Ravens. That cannot be the case this week. As long as Dion Dawkins and Spencer Brown can keep pass rushers Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter out of the pocket, Allen shouldn’t feel much pressure throughout the game.

Khalil Shakir scores two touchdowns

The “everybody eats” mindset that the Bills have is working, but don’t think for a second that defenses won’t catch onto that. The Bills need to make one or maybe two receivers the go-to guys in this game. Khalil Shakir has emerged as Mr. Reliable for this Bills passing attack.

Shakir leads the Bills in targets, receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns. He has even helped the Bills move the chains for a first down on 11 plays. In his career with the Bills, Shakir has never had a multi-touchdown game. He will have a prime opportunity to accomplish that if the Bills can make him the primary target and attack the short field.

Bills put up 30+ points by halftime 

That’s right, you read it correctly. Not only will the Bills bounce back this week in H-Town, but they could easily have a repeat of their Week 3 beatdown that they gave to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bills tend to play well following a loss so it would not be surprising to see the Bills light up the scoreboard early and often before halftime hits.

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