The Buffalo Bills travel to play the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on Sunday, September 28 with kickoff at 1 p.m. ET.
Sunday's game will be the seventh meeting between the Bills and the Texans and the series is currently tied 3-3. With a win over the Texans on Sunday, the Bills will:
• Start 3-1 for the first time since 2011
BILLS-TEXANS REGULAR SEASON SERIES
• Overall regular season record: 3-3
• Bills on the road at Texans: 2-1
• Last meeting at Texans: 11/4/2012, L 21-9
• First regular season meeting: 10/13/2002, W 31-24 at Houston
• Last regular season meeting: 11/4/2012, L 21-9 at Houston
The Bills remain on the road for their next game, traveling to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions on October 5 at 1 p.m. ET.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR ...
OFFENSE
QB EJ Manuel
• With a touchdown pass, would set a new career-high with a TD pass in five straight games.
WR Robert Woods
• Two receptions to total 50 catches in his career
WR Mike Williams
• Will record 3,000 receiving yards for his NFL career with three receiving yards
• Five receptions to record 225 for his career
RB C.J. Spiller
• Four receptions to become the 23rd player in Bills history with 150 receptions in his career
RB Fred Jackson
• Two rushing touchdowns to become the fourth Bill with 30 or more in his career
• With next touchdown, will tie Joe Cribbs for #7 in Bills history with 36.
TE Scott Chandler
• Needs eight receptions to become fourth Bills TE with 150 for his career
• Needs one receiving touchdown to become the fourth Bills TE with 15 or more in his career
• Since 2011, Chandler's nine touchdowns in September are tied for fifth most in NFL, only trailing Jimmy Graham, Calvin Johnson and Wes Welker.
DEFENSE
DT Marcell Dareus
• 1.5 sack to post 20.0 in his NFL career
CB Corey Graham
• Needs five passes defensed to tie career-high with 12 in a season
DE Jerry Hughes
• Two tackles for a loss to record 20 for his career
DE Mario Williams
• 1.5 sacks to record 80.0 for his career
SPECIAL TEAMS
CB/PR Leodis McKelvin
• One punt return touchdown to set a new team record with four
BILLS-TEXANS SERIES HIGHS
Rushing Yards
Bills: 159, Travis Henry 10/13/02 @ HOU
Texans: 126, Ryan Moats 11/1/09 @ BUF
Receiving Yards
Bills: 265, Lee Evans 11/19/06 @ HOU
Texans: 126, Corey Bradford 10/13/02 @ HOU
Passing Yards
Bills: 340, J.P. Losman 11/19/06 @ HOU
Texans: 268 (twice), Matt Schaub 11/1/09 @ BUF, 11/4/12 @ HOU
FORMER BILLS/TEXANS
• Bills DE Mario Williams was drafted #1 overall by the Texans in 2006. He played there for six season, accumulating 53.0 sacks and 192 tackles. He is still the franchise's all-time sacks leader.
• Texans QB Ryan Fitzpatrick played for the Bills from 2009-2012.
• Stan Hixon, Wide Receivers coach for the Texans, held the same position in Buffalo for the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
• Texans Defensive Line Coach Bill Kollar spent 3 years coaching the Bills D-Line from 2006-2008.
AREA CONNECTIONS
• Buffalo Defensive Backs Coach Donnie Henderson spent the 1998 season as the defensive backs and assistant head coach at the University of Houston prior to joining the NFL
• Buffalo Bills defensive end Jerry Hughes, a native of Sugar Land, Texas, grew up a little over 15 miles from NRG Stadium.
NFL CONNECTIONS
• From 2005-07 Bills G Erik Pears and Texans C Chris Meyers played together on the Denver Broncos offensive line that paved the way for two different 1,000-yard backs during that span.
• Bills LB Keith Rivers and Texans CB Johnathan Joseph played together as Cincinnati Bengals from 2008-10.
• From 2008-10, Bills CB Corey Graham, Texans S Danieal Manning and Bills G Chris Williams all played for the Chicago Bears.
• As a member of the Raiders, Texans P Shane Lechler crossed paths with Bills G Erik Pears from 2009-10 and Bills LB coach Fred Pagac, who served in the same position with the Raiders from 2001-03.
COLLEGE CONNECTIONS
• Bills Head Coach Doug Marrone and Texans Head Coach Bill O'Brien both got their start at the FBS level at Georgia Tech in 1995. Marrone stayed at Tech from 1995-99, while O'Brien stayed until 2002.
• Bills DT Marcell Dareus played on the same side of the ball as Texans DB Kareem Jackson at Alabama from 2008-2010, highlighted by winning the National Championship in 2009.
• Bills WR Sammy Watkins and Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins played together at Clemson from 2010-12, forming one of the most prolific passing offenses in college football.
• Bills T Cordy Glenn, Texans G Ben Jones and Texans MLB Akeem Dent all played at the University of Georgia from 2008-2011. The 2008 Bulldogs were ranked #1 in both preseason polls.
• Buffalos TEs Scott Chandler played on the same 2009 Iowa team as Houston LB Jeff Tarpinian.
• Texans LB Justin Tuggle played with Bills RB Bryce Brown at Kansas State from 2010-2011.
• Bills CB Ron Brooks played at LSU with Texans RB Alfred Blue from 2010-11.
• From 2005-07, Bills LB Keith Rivers and Texans LB Brian Cushing both started for one of the most feared linebacking corps in the country at USC. In all, five linebackers off of the 2007 Trojans went on to play in the NFL.
• In 2011, Texans DE Jadeveon Clowney was a freshman phenom that joined a South Carolina Gamecocks defense that boasted a secondary with Texans S D.J. Swearinger and an All-American in Bills CB Stephon Gilmore.
