Today’s 1pm EST showdown on CBS between the Buffalo Bills and Houston Texans offers a lot more reasons to watch live than casual fans might expect. Yet in spite of its revenge elements and offense vs. defense matchup problems, today’s Bills vs Texans game may largely be dismissed as a non-event.
The Bills have lost the past two times these teams have met, and neither was really close. In 2009 Buffalo dropped the game 10-31, followed by a 9-21 drubbing in 2012. In the latter game, Ryan Fitzpatrick was quarterbacking the Bills having just signed a massive contract extension.
Fitzpatrick enters today’s Texans / Bills game live as Houston’s starting quarterback. Buffalo, meanwhile, continues to stand by struggling QB EJ Manuel, though the rumor mill says Manuel could see the bench in the second half or following this game if things doesn’t turn around.
While rookie wide receiver Sammy Watkins has been the fall guy for some of the Bills’ receiving ineptitude, he’s been hampered by a nagging rib injury that last Sunday appeared to be bothering him still. In truth, Buffalo’s yardage problem — they’re 28th in the league — lies in EJ Manuel, who continues to have accuracy problems.
With Arian Foster and Alfred Blue sharing time at running back for the Texans, Houston’s had a decent balance of rushing and passing this season. Foster may see some carries this week after sitting out last Sunday, when Blue rushed 13 times for 78 yards. Both Texans RBs will need to be on their game, though, as the Bills rushing defense has played better than its passing D.
Which brings us back to Fitzpatrick. If the Bills ground defense can contain Foster and Blue, Fitzpatrick will be under even more pressure to play well against his former team. Last weekend in their 17-30 loss to the Giants, Fitzpatrick threw three interceptions as he was forced to pass more than weeks 1 and 2. Texans fans will hope it’s coincidence that last week’s increase in pass attempts led to Houston’s first loss of the season.
You can watch the Buffalo Bills take on the Houston Texans live on TV on CBS. You can also watch Bills vs Texans game online live free stream Week 4 using the CBS Sports website or DirecTV’s website. The latter requires you to have an NFL Sunday Ticket MAX package, which requires a subscription. All subscribers can watch the game online free via the DirecTV live stream if they’re stuck using a smartphone, tablet or PC.
