Three offensive players who need to shine for Buffalo Bills in Week 5
By Connor Allen
The Buffalo Bills will be traveling to Houston this weekend to take on the Texans in what people are calling a "revenge game" due to the Texans being the team the Bills traded WR Stefon Diggs to after a long offseason of wondering what his next move would be.
Both teams are facing injuries to key positions ahead of the matchup, but arguably, no injury is as crippling to either team than the injury to Bills star wide receiver Khalil Shakir, who has already been ruled out for Sunday's 1 PM game.
Shakir's vital role in the new-look Bills offense so far leaves many questions to answer with him not playing this weekend. Changes will need to be made on the offensive side of the ball, and three players in particular, need to stand out this weekend for the Bills to have any chance of success against the Texans.
1- QB Josh Allen
The first player is an obvious choice. Bills quarterback Josh Allen has a chance to walk into Houston and prove to the NFL that the Bills are still a top team, despite injuries to his receiving room. Allen has shown many moments where he can take over games on his own, and in most cases, bringing the Bills out of the jaws of defeat into victory.
He won't have Shakir on the field, which should also allow him to develop more chemistry with WRs Curtis Samuel and Keon Coleman. Building his chemistry with Samuel and Coleman should also allow them to become more effective contributors to the offense, even when Shakir comes back into the lineup.
On top of this,the Texans boast a pass rush win rate of 49% which ranks 7th in the NFL through five weeks. A strong pass rush means Allen will be running around in the pocket frequently; which could also give him the opportunity to run for extra yards as well. Regardless of what kind of pressure the Texans bring, Allen will need to be on top of his game to give the Bills a chance, almost like Superman putting on the cape.
2- WR Keon Coleman
The rookie wide receiver showed out against the Jacksonville Jaguars a few weeks ago, but came back down to earth against the Baltimore Ravens last week. He dropped one major pass that could have led to points early, but made up for it by catching two more insane passes from Allen that set the Bills up well despite the horrid end to the game.
Now without Shakir to draw the attention, Coleman could be poised to have his first, true, breakout game in the NFL. The Texans will want to ensure TE Dalton Kincaid is also contained as much as possible without Shakir on the field as well, opening up more opportunities for Allen to reach Coleman, particularly (and hopefully) in the red zone.
3- James Cook
The Texans run stop win rate sits at 32%, which ranks 12th in the NFL through five weeks. The Texans desire to keep Kincaid contained, along with keeping Allen inside the pocket, should allow RB James Cook to have an incredible day on the ground.
But to really get the most out of Cook against the Texans, the Bills need to get him involved in the passing game, particularly the short range passing game as they've used him in the past.