ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Since head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane took over, the Bills have taken numerous steps toward building and sustaining success in the NFL.
They fixed the cap situation, rebuilt this roster, broke the playoff drought, just to name a few examples.
Now they're gearing up for their second playoff appearance in three years as the Bills face the Texans on Wild Card on Saturday. Only this time, the Bills got in on their own, without help from other teams as they clinched a postseason berth with a win over the Steelers a few weeks ago.
So a win on Saturday would not only be huge for the obvious, to get to the Divisional round, but to take that next step in the "McBeane" regime. It would be the Bills' first playoff win since 1995.
These two met last year as Houston won 20-13 but the Bills defense slowed down and limited the Texans' explosive offense. Now they look to do the same this time around as the Bills only allow 298.3 yards per game, that's third best in the NFL.
The premier one-on-one matchup in this game is round two of Tre'Davious White against DeAndre Hopkins.
A big key for the Bills defense in this game is not only limiting Houston's explosive plays as Deshaun Watson can make, but also stopping the run. So much is made of the Texans' passing game but if they can get the running game going, it's going to be a long day for the Bills.
Just like we saw in New England, the Bills can't allow Houston to control the time of possession with those long, scoring drives.
On offense, Josh Allen gets ready to make his NFL postseason debut just like so many other guys on this team. A big key for them is going to be getting off to a fast start. After the loss to the Patriots, Allen said some "pregame jitters" or "anxiousness" might have caused the slow start and can't have that happen on Saturday.
However, the Texans secondary is banged up so there should be opportunities for Allen and guys like John Brown and Cole Beasley to make big plays in the passing game along with getting Devin Singletary involved early in the running game. I wouldn't be surprised if Frank Gore actually played a big role in this one too considering so much attention goes to Singletary.
The Texans defense ranks toward the bottom of the league in a number of categories including yards allowed where they're giving up 388.3 yards per game. That's fifth worse in the NFL.
Yes it looks like All-Pro defensive end J.J. Watt will return but I can't imagine he'll be 100% given he's returning from what was thought to be a season-ending injury with a torn pectoral muscle he suffered in week 8 against the Raiders and has not played since.
2 on Your Side's Heather Prusak and Vic Carucci from the Buffalo News and Sports Talk Live Buffalo break down these matchups even more in their weekly preview.