Bills-Texans: Week Eight Preview and Keys to the Game

This Sunday, you can expect to see all kinds of weird post-Halloween attired Bills fans in attendance. The Bills are hosting the Houston Texans and are returning home after two consecutive road wins.

The Bills fans will have a chance to turn all of the recent jeers, ghostly boos, and witches cackles into cheers for their Bills, the road warriors that they are. In four road games this year, the Bills beat the Jets and the Panthers, lost to the Patriots by one point, and got blown out by Miami.

Overall, that is pretty impressive when you consider how hard it is to play in a hostile environment in the NFL.

Now they return to the friendly confines of Ralph Wilson Stadium. But, how friendly will the Ralph be on Sunday? Last time the Bills were there, they played arguably one of the worst games in recent memory in an embarrassing loss to Cleveland, 6-3. Nine false start penalties can really get a crowd riled up.

Now known as the infamous "two pass completions and a cloud of dust game," this game gave birth to a highly publicized billboard being erected in Western New York.

Bills fans were screaming for Dick Jauron's head that evening, and Ralph Wilson himself was left speechless. Fast forward to two road games, two upset wins, and Bills fans should be a little more relaxed and encouraged by the recent developments. 

That is until the opening kickoff and the first time the Bills' offense takes the field. After that, all bets are off.

The fans are sick and tired of seeing an anaemic offense trotting out there week after week. After seven weeks, want to take a guess who is tied for second place in scoring Bills touchdowns this season?

OK, time is up. The answer is your typical household offensive stalwarts like defensive ends Ryan Denney and Aaron Schobel and safety Donte Whitner.

By scoring the Bills' first rushing touchdown of the year on Sunday, Marshawn Lynch has now officially joined the one touchdown club. 

That shows you how bad it has been. How did this team win three games again?

Now, the Bills must prepare to face a legitimate passing attack that comes to town in the form of the Houston Texans. What qualifies them as legitimate?

The Bills' Pass Defense Will Be Really Tested This Weekend  

Andre Johnson is ranked as the No. 1 receiver in the NFL. The Texans' passing attack in ranked as No. 2 in the league. Quarterback Matt Schaub is ranked as No. 4. Got your attention yet?  

Andre Johnson's teammate, Owen Daniels, is tied for No. 10 in passing yardage. Daniels is a tight end, by the way. The guy caught seven passes for 123 yards last week. The Bills have not had anyone catching passes for over 100 yards in one game all season long.

The closest the Bills had was Freddy Jackson with 83 yards in Week One. Lee Evans had 75 last Sunday, but that has been the biggest output so far.

Oh, and then the Texans have running back Steve Slaton at No. 46 in receiving yards, just to make sure that teams don't give all their attention to Johnson and Daniels. At No. 46, Slaton would qualify as the leading receiver on the Bills.

Schaub's QB passer rating is over 100. He has completed 65 percent of his throws, and has racked up 16 TDs to only five interceptions.

This Should Prove to Be an Interesting Contest —Something Has to Give

It is imperative that the Bills' defensive line puts pressure on Schaub throughout the game. The Bills' improved pass rush has already registered 16 sacks this season, and they will need to keep the pressure on if they are to succeed this week.

It will be a blow to the Bills if they are without Kyle Williams, who left in the first quarter last Sunday and did not return. His status is up in the air as of now.

Schaub has not faced a smoking hot defensive secondary like the Bills. Buffalo has come up with eight interceptions in the last two games and they seem to be poised to be there to collect any errant throw that comes their way. The Bills rank as No. 1 in the NFL in number of passes defended.

Jairus Byrd has now recorded interceptions in three straight games and is No. 2 in the league in picks.

The Bills' defense is tied with New Orleans for most interceptions in the league with 11. So what gives on Sunday: the Bills' turnovers total or Schaub's QB rating?  

What won't be known until closer to game day is the health of the Bills' defense. Donte Whitner and Bryan Scott missed last week's game.

If they are deemed to be ready, the Bills have an interesting decision to make as to who to start, who to sit, or if they try to come up with a creative three safety hybrid look to thwart the Texans' passing attack.

The Bills' defense won't have to worry about facing a tough running game this week, as they finally catch a breather regarding the ground game. Houston has only rushed for 554 yards so far this season. The Bills have seen enough stud running backs to last them for awhile.

In addition, every time Steve Slaton gets a carry, the Bills should start licking their chops. Slaton has fumbled five times already this year, so expect the Bills to try and strip the ball from him every chance they get. Once you are perceived to have a weakness, the rest of the league will continue to try to prove that it is fact. 

Conversely, the Bills have only fumbled once all year, in rushing for over 780 yards.

What Should We Expect When the Bills Have the Ball?

Since Dick Jauron has already announced that Trent Edwards has been ruled out of the game due to his concussion, this means that Ryan Fitzpatrick gets another week as the starter.

Fitzpatrick gets valuable practice reps with the first team all week. It also means that a potential quarterback controversy was neatly nipped in the bud, at least for two more weeks.

Gibran Hamdan will be the backup, and if it stays the same as last week, Roscoe Parrish will serve as the emergency QB.

We can expect that the no-huddle offense has been placed in a storage box, not to be dusted off again.

The only reason you may see it at all is in the two minute drill at the end of the half or end of the game. Even then, the Bills may be better off without it, as the amount of penalties has dropped substantially when the no-huddle was abandoned.

Fitzpatrick has established a nice chemistry with Lee Evans, but that is about it as far as clicks with the receivers go. He certainly doesn't have much chemistry with Terrell Owens yet. In fact, one might argue that Joanna Krupa has more chemistry with T.O. than Fitzpatrick does.

Impossible, you say? Did you see last Sunday how hard T.O. tried to catch some of the passes that Fitzpatrick threw his way? At least he tried to perform for Joanna. I rest my case.

Houston does not have an overpowering pass rush, with only nine sacks for the year. Still, they haven't seen as inexperienced an offensive line as the Bills bring, so it will be interesting to see if Fitzpatrick will have more time to throw than normal or not.

The Bills will have to be more creative on first down than they were last Sunday. Coming up with plays that result in no yardage or a gain of one yard or two are just not acceptable for first down.

Maybe Alex Van Pelt can introduce a trick play or two for this week, but he has to find a way to allow Buffalo better down and distance situations than what has happened so far.

Intangibles

The Bills are only converting 26 percent of their third down opportunities, where Houston has been converting 35 percent. This is a direct result of the first and second down woes.

The Bills are still leading the NFL in penalties and this will be their first game back at home following the 13 times they were flagged against Cleveland. The home fans booed loud and long that game.

All the boos probably helped to contribute to the players being uptight and not able to relax. Nine false start penalties are enough evidence to suggest that the fans try to show a little more restraint this Sunday.

Expect to see the Bills rotate their safeties if Whitner, Scott, Byrd, and Wilson are all healthy enough to suit up. I think Byrd has to be on the field full time to help deter Schaub from having an absolute field day in the air.

Texans have had more special team success in the return game as they have had 60-plus yard returns in both the punt return and kickoff return game.

The Bills have not yet recorded a return for a touchdown as their special teams play has dropped down a notch or two this year. They did play much more inspired ball in Carolina last week, however.

Health Issues

The Texans have to be a little concerned about Andre Johnson coughing up blood on Sunday. He was hospitalized as a result. If he misses the game for any reason, that changes everything. The Bills can then double team Owen Daniels and Steve Slaton and take their chances.

The Bills will probably get Shawn Nelson back, along with Whitner and Scott. That should really help the troops before the bye week. Expect James Hardy back after the bye week.

Weather

Not yet known is how much of a factor the weather will be. We have already had snow in New England in October, so anything is possible. Both teams have won two games in a row, and a three-game winning streak would give the Bills' team great momentum coming in to their bye week.

Bills Stock: Rising and Falling

Keith Ellison

The Bills linebacker was ranked as the No. 1 tackler in the NFL coming in to the MNF game tonight. He has played pretty steady ball all season, and has emerged as the only healthy Bills linebacker week in and week out.

Jairus Byrd

His stock is rising faster than the number of amendments added on to national health care reform bills. He is on such a roll, I would have to think that he is now the front runner for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Freddy Jackson

Freddy, where have you gone? The Bills' reliable running back that filled in so capably for Marshawn Lynch during the three game suspension seems to no longer have much of a role in the Bills' attack.

He gained all of two yards in five carries against Carolina. Plus, he was asked to line up so deep in the end zone on the carry that resulted in a safety, that play was doomed to fail.

Kudos to Garrison Sanborn

The long snapper has been on the money all year with his crisp hikes to Brian Moorman. I hope I haven't just jinxed him in the process.

Trent Edwards

I hate to admit it, but if the Bills win their third straight, how can you ask Ryan Fitzpatrick to sit on the bench? Trent's game has regressed this year in my humble opinion, so I think you stick with Fitz until he loses a game.

If the Bills do drop this one, then you leave it up to the doctors to decide when he is ready. They are really sticking with a very tight protocol on Trent's health, which I am glad to see.

Marshawn Lynch

I'm glad to see him get his first rushing TD, but why did he feel the need to hot dog his way in to the end zone? Was it that he was to used to scoring touchdowns all week?

What if a lineman was trying to sustain a block a second or two longer and as a result gets called for holding? When you have the chance to run it in, you run it in. You don't walk. And you especially don't walk when Marshawn is driving.

What do you think, Bills fans?