👍1. Josh vs. CJ

Sunday afternoon will mark the first time that Josh Allen and C.J. Stroud will face each other in the NFL. Stroud, who just turned 23 on Thursday, has taken the league by storm, holding the record for the highest passing touchdown-interception ratio (32-7) prior to turning 23-years old.

Stroud is also the first QB in NFL history to throw for 5,000 or more passing yards and have fewer than 10 interceptions before turning 23.

"He could obviously get the ball down the field with his arm, and also he can extend plays," DE Greg Rousseau said. "I feel like they have a really functional offense all around. They can run the ball, pass the ball. They got really good receivers, so it's gonna be a challenge, but we're up for it."

On his weekly appearance on 'One Bills Live,' ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky said that the Texans record is about how terrific Stroud has been playing.

"CJ has been remarkable and making plays with his feet and really on third down, which was the case last year," Orlovsky said.

The Bills offense looks to get back on track after Sunday night's loss and will face a Texans defense that has allowed the third-most passing touchdowns in 2024 (8). Houston is still a top 5 pass defense, surrendering only 161.0 passing yards per game.

Orlovsky also said that for Buffalo to be successful against a talented secondary that they will have to live throwing away from these corners.

"They got really good ball skills," Orlovsky said. "If you're Buffalo offensively, I don't live throwing the ball to the perimeter that much. I think you live throwing the ball if you're going to, you know, push the ball downfield, I think you're taking shots kind of at the hashes… I don't think you're trying to test these corners and their ball skills that much… This defense doesn't have a flaw and if they get their pass rush going with Danielle Hunter it is a big-time problem."

Since 2020 when facing top 5 defenses, Allen has a 9-1 record, throwing for 260.1 yards per game and 27 passing touchdowns.

"They're going to score points," Stroud said. "Josh Allen is definitely a top, premier quarterback in this league, and I'm a big fan of his. Watch his game a lot. So, you know, just a ton of respect for them."

Despite his success, Allen knows that this Houston defense will be a difficult challenge but is ready to step up for it.

"They got a couple of ends that are really fast," Allen said. "They do a good job of getting to the quarterback. In the back end, everyone knows the corner they've got in Derek Stingley, great young player, who seemingly makes plays on the ball, week in and week out. So got to make sure we're aware of what we're doing and sticking to the game plan of what we got."

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🔥2. Watch out for Nico Collins

Houston's offense features a host of playmakers so it's hard to single out just one player. However it's hard to ignore the production of WR Nico Collins.

Collins has exploded onto the scene for Houston and is currently leading the NFL in receiving yards with 489 yards. The next closest receiver is the Giants' Malik Nabers, who is 103 yards behind him with 386 yards.

"Nico, that's everything we talk about, what's our style of play," Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said. "Like I want receivers finishing inbounds. I don't want receivers running out of bounds… like you finish through them and get as many yards as possible. And Nico exhibits that every single time he steps on the field. That's why I love Nico as a player. He brings his all each and every game."

Slowing down Collins is no easy task as the receiver has 80 or more yards in each of his last 6 games which is the longest active streak in not only team history, but currently in the NFL.

"He's showing that you talk about getting better and putting the work in," Ryans said "Just his mindset of just being working hard and deliberate in practice and working on that just being consistent and reliable. He's done that. He's put that work in and now he's one of the best receivers in NFL."

This week the Bills defense will be tasked with slowing him down. Buffalo's pass defense is allowing just 86.0 yards to opposing receivers, the best in the NFL.

"Just their ability to bend, not break," Texans QB C.J. Stroud said of the Bills defense. "They don't really give up big plays. They have some guys who play their system very well. Rasul (Douglas), great DB takes the ball away a lot. Got a lot of respect for him. And then, Damar is playing really good ball as well. So, got some key components on that side, definitely got some playmakers so you know you got to be able to take care of the ball and be able to move the ball and score points."

💫3. Rising stars - Christian Benford and Spencer Brown

If, and when, you ask Josh Allen about his offensive line, he will always give them credit for the offense's overall success.

If you ask him specifically about RT Spencer Brown, his face lights up with excitement.

Ever since Brown signed a four-year extension to stay with the Buffalo Bills before Week 1, Allen has raved about Brown and how happy he is that Brown is protecting him for the foreseeable future

"Very happy for him and more importantly, happy for myself, knowing what he brings to this offense and the mentality that he has," Allen said of Brown. "And the story that he has, too, I think it's pretty special… how hard he continuously works at trying to perfect his craft. And on top of that, the love and the fight that he has for his teammates is pretty special."

ESPN's Ben Solak named Brown to his All-Film team for the first quarter of the 2024 season. Here's what he said about Brown's play:

A lot of teams take the toolsy, small-school tackle in the middle rounds; few teams actually develop the guy. Kudos to the Bills, who rode some early ups-and-downs from their 2021 third-round draft selection and are now reaping the fruit of their patience. Brown has learned how to play light and balanced despite his enormous 6-foot-8 frame, and he hadn't given up a pressure all season until he ran into weirdly elite edge rusher Kyle Van Noy on Sunday night.

On the other side of the ball, a player that has also received a lot of love is CB Christian Benford. According to Pro Football Focus, Benford has been planting his footprint in the secondary, allowing only a 35.7% completion percentage to opposing quarterbacks while allowing only a 14.6 passer rating, which is first among 45 corners with 125 or more coverage snaps in 2024.

His stellar performance placed his on the PFF 2024 NFL First-Quarter All-Pro team.

His secondary partner, CB Rasul Douglas, has also raved about him and what, the man everyone simply calls "CB," means to this team and how competitive he is.

"He just got that attitude," Douglas said. "He got that nasty attitude about himself, that like whenever he gets around to play, he gonna make sure you know he's around. He's disciplined… He got good technique. And he just likes playing football, he likes competing. I think that's the attribute you got to have when you're out there, is just wanting to compete and getting better. And he has that."

👀4. Next Man Up

It seems like the theme of the year for the Bills has been "next man up" and that is no different this week.

In the wake of the Von Miller suspension, the Bills will look to their depth along the defensive line to help alleviate some of the production that Miller has had in the early part of the season.

"The job is to move forward," head coach Sean McDermott said. "I've really been proud of the way the guys have stepped up. They've had to deal with quite a few situations, injuries, now in this case the suspension with Von. So, I expect the same, quite honestly. Somebody is going to step up. That's what's in that locker room."

Rousseau echoed what McDermott said, adding that they don't feel any pressure when someone goes down or is not available to play.

"Yeah, I'd say we don't see this as pressure," Rousseau said. "I feel like whenever any of us go down, we have a brotherhood, and we all just want to uphold that standard out there in the field. So that's kind of our mindset."

One player that everyone does have their eye on is rookie DE Javon Solomon. In Rousseau's own words, "he's ready."

"He's been working hard since training camp," Rousseau said. "He carries himself like a pro. You wouldn't even think he's a rookie if you didn't know he was a rookie. So, I know he's ready. I know he's ready for it."

👏5. Capitalizing on turnovers

It's fall in Buffalo, but apple turnovers aren't the only turnovers that Buffalo is enjoying. Forcing turnovers have been an important part of the Bills offense's start to the season.

The Bills defense is currently second in the NFL, forcing five total turnovers against opposing offenses. From those turnovers, the Bills have scored on all but one of their drives after forcing a turnover for the second-most points in the NFL (31), trailing only the Vikings (35).

Those short fields have been instrumental in the offense scoring points and getting out to early leads in two of the team's three victories in 2024.

"Those short distance moments in a football game, when it's, second-and-two, or even a third-and-two, you want to make sure that you always pass that line so you can stay in the first downs, second downs," LT Dion Dawkins said. "Once you get in third-and-longs and all that stuff, then that's when the whole game-plan changes."

Dawkins also added that winning on early downs for them is helpful in making sure that the playbook is open.

"When we succeed early in those downs, it keeps our playbook drastically open, where we can do a bunch of different things," Dawkins said. "And it helps (Joe) Brady too, where he's not just pinpointed to one point of his call sheet. He can have the whole thing in front of him and be like, 'you know, let's just roll the decks and pick this.'"