The Buffalo Bills will hit the road to take on the Houston Texans on Saturday in the AFC Wild Card Round. The Bills come into the game as 2.5-point underdogs in a showdown of the respective fourth and fifth seeds in the AFC.
To end the season, Buffalo lost three of their last four games—including losses to the Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots. Their lone win came against the shorthanded Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 15.
The Bills have leaned on their underrated defense to secure the majority of their wins. However, Josh Allen and the offense have shown vast improvements from a season ago in 2019.
As for the Texans, they will go as far as Deshaun Watson can take them as their defense is wildly inconsistent. Unlike the Bills, Houston finished the season strong; winning four of their last six contests.
Of the four games taking place in the first round of the postseason, the Bills and Texans could be the most evenly-matched game. Given that, here are five bold predictions in the Bills and Texans Wild Card matchup.
5. J.J. Watt will record two sacks in his return from injury
While the Texans are uncertain that Will Fuller will suit up on Saturday, J.J. Watt is making his return from a torn pectoral. Watt suffered the injury in Week 8 against the Oakland Raiders and was placed on injured reserve.
Nevertheless, Watt is proving that he is superhuman once again by staying ahead of schedule in his recovery. Before suffering the injury, the veteran defensive end was having somewhat of a down season as he had just four sacks, four tackles for loss, and 21 quarterback hits.
In his return versus the Bills, the two-time Defensive Player of the Year will record two sacks. Buffalo's offensive line surrendered 40 sacks on Allen (17th in the NFL).
4. Devin Singletary will have 125 yards from scrimmage
Last year, the Bills selected Devin Singletary in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. As the season progressed, Singletary saw his role expand in the backfield alongside Frank Gore.
The rookie running back finished the season with 969 yards from scrimmage on 180 touches. In addition, the Florida Atlantic product had four games of producing 100 or more yards from scrimmage.
Singletary will manage to gain over 125 yards from scrimmage for the second time in his career on Saturday. It helps that the Texans gave up 104 receptions and 891 receiving yards to running backs in 2019 — both are second-most in the NFL.
3. DeAndre Hopkins will be limited to under five receptions
The most anticipated matchup in Saturday's contest is DeAndre Hopkins being covered by Tre'Davious White. White is considered to be one of the best cornerbacks the NFL has to offer—and for good reason.
The third-year corner was named a first-team All-Pro in 2019 after contributing 54 tackles, eight deflections, and six interceptions. On the other hand, Hopkins is regarded as arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL.
The Texans' No. 1 wideout has hauled in at least five receptions in every game in 2019. With White likely shadowing him on Saturday, Hopkins will be limited to under five receptions.
2. Josh Allen will complete 70 percent of his passes
Since Allen was selected by the Bills in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft, his accuracy has been put into question. There's no doubt that his inaccuracy is the most glaring weakness of his game.
In his second season in the NFL, Allen has completed only 58.8 percent of his attempts. That is actually an improvement from his dismal 52.8 completion percentage from a year ago.
Despite his inability to be on target with his passes the majority of the time, the second-year quarterback will complete 70 percent of his passes versus the Texans.
1. Buffalo wins the game handily on the road
By looking further into this game, there's no doubt that Buffalo has the better defense. At the same time, the Texans have an offense that has proven to be inconsistent throughout the entire season.
Again, the Texans are favored to defeat the Bills by 2.5 points as the home team. But when breaking down the dynamics of both teams, the Bills are more complete on both sides of the ball.
Considering that, it wouldn't come as a surprise if Buffalo won the game handily on the road. That becomes less of a bold prediction if Houston doesn't have Fuller available on offense though.
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