What is the key to the game?

[kbarrettb]

Quarterback play. Allen needs to put up a really nice game and the defense needs to shut down Watson and their passing attack. 

[Nextmanup]

Josh Allen.  

 

Has to have one of his best games and has to produce some points.

 

 

[wppete]

The play of our defensive line. We have to get to Watson and stop the run. If we do that I’m confident the LBS and DBs can hold their own. Also confident we can put up 20 points on a very weak Texans Defense. 

[Pokebball]

I think the Texans have the most schizophrenic results than any team in the playoffs.  Most of their wins and losses leave me shaking my head and thinking WTH.  Are the Bills going to face Jekyll or Hyde?  

 

I'm hoping we meet the team that got manhandled by the Broncos last month.  That's the game film Daboll needs to be studying.

[Chandler#81]

18 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Josh Allen.  

 

Has to have one of his best games and has to produce some points.

 

 

Agreed. Singularly this. I love the kid, but there’s a whole lot of 2nd year QB ‘stuff’ that’s understandably concerning. If he plays well, we win. If he doesn’t, we lose. 

[MJS]

I think it will come down to turnovers. If the Bills can force two more turnovers than the Texans, we win.

[frostbitmic]

Dominate the time of possession... Simple to say, but it keeps our defense fresh while wearing their defense out.

 

Offense - Go big and physical in the first half. (Allen,Knox, Duke, Gore) move the chains, tire and bruise them, wear them out. In the 2nd half, speedy and shifty guys like Brown, Singletary, Beasley and Yeldon will be tough to defend.

 

Defense - They know what they're doing, no need to change a thing.

 

ST's - Please don't **** up

[Helpmenow]

Stopping #10

[BarleyNY]

A lot will depend on the Texicans playing zone, as Romeo prefers.  Josh has done well against that but has struggled against man coverage, especially with a strong rush.  On the other side of the ball our DL needs to handle Houston’s poor OL and make things tough on Watson and the run game. 

[Liberal Bob]

My guess is the Bills special teams most notably the punt return group will have a big impact on the game and lets hope this is the game that they break one off for a game deciding touchdown return

 

They are way overdue or something big

[Hapless Bills Fan]

1 hour ago, Chandler#81 said:

Agreed. Singularly this. I love the kid, but there’s a whole lot of 2nd year QB ‘stuff’ that’s understandably concerning. If he plays well, we win. If he doesn’t, we lose. 

 

Eh.  Agree he needs to play well, but if the line stays out of his lap, he plays good. 

When the line moves into his living room, his footwork regresses, he throws early, and he loses some vision.

 

[Kelly the Dog]

One of the biggest IMO is stopping Will Fuller from hurting us deep. Tre can neutralize Hopkins, who is one of the very best. Fuller can kill us, especially against Levi.

[John from Riverside]

In order to win this game we need to limit our turnovers and score points.

 

I fully expect our D to hold up their end of this.   4th quarter Josh Allen needs to show up in the 1st quarter.

 

This is a very winnable game.   My predictions for this year were a 10 and 6 record and winning a wild card.   Almost there.

[1st Ammendment NoMas]

I'm going to say this game will come down to 3rd downs and special teams.  

 

On offense, we need to get into favorable 3rd down situations and convert at least 60% of them. We can't have those 2 yd first down runs and 2nd down incompletions forcing us into 3rd and long. We need to consistently move the chains, get into favorable field positions and score points when we have the opportunity. 

 

On defense, we need to limit those 3rd and long conversions that seem to haunt us when some TE or RB gets loose on 3rd and 8 and keeps the chains moving, allowing a scoring drive. We need to get those 3rd down sacks and turnovers and keep the Texans offense out of sync and under pressure. We also can't allow first downs from stupid penalties to keep drives alive. No roughing the passer, no PI, no jumping Offside or holding.

 

Special teams. We need to hit our FG's from 40+ This could be the game. We need to limit returns, not shank any punts and have Roberts finally pay off and break a punt return loose for a TD or at least a big gain.  I think both offenses will move the ball and put up at least 300 yds. It will be the little things that are do or die.

[DuckyBoys]

I think it will come down to coaching.  Is  McDermott is willing to go outside his comfort zone and be aggressive on D and allow Daboll to be more aggressive with his plays on offense.  If we sit back and wait for the game to come to us and play it out down to the wire I think it favors the more experienced qb and home team.

[CaptnCoke11]

If Fuller doesn’t play put Tre on Hopkins and see what happens.  I like our chances. 

[YoloinOhio]

Run the ***** ball.

 

thats boring, Yolo. 
 

I stand by it.

Edited January 3, 2020 by YoloinOhio

[LABILLBACKER]

18 hours ago, GunnerBill said:

I think the game actually comes down to can the Bills control the clock and move the ball systematically. Get Josh in rhythm early with the short passing game and then stay balanced with Singletary. There will be chances to go deep against Houston's secondary but we need to stay patient. We can't afford to lose the TOP battle as obviously as we did against the Pats. 

Should be a similar game plan as Dallas. Our defense has to blitz. And I agree, get Josh early confidence with shorter passes and then play action in longer ones later in the game. Execute the screen properly. If the Texans are truly 30th in pass defense then pass to set up the run. If this team can't put up 20+ then they've failed us again. 

Edited January 3, 2020 by LABILLBACKER

[Giuseppe Tognarelli]

Your mom

[Turk71]

I think the key is definitely going to be what my oldest brother Michael always insisted it would be, score more points than the other team.