Houston Texans Inactives & Injury Updates for NFL Week 4 at Bills
Ten days off a Thursday night loss to the Carolina Panthers could be exactly what the doctor ordered the Texans. Houston heads to face the Buffalo Bills healthier, and hopefully, more prepared.
RECORDS: Texans (1-2), Bills (2-1)
ODDS: Texans are 17.5 point underdogs… Over/under is 47 points.
READ MORE: How To Watch Texans vs Bills: Test For Houston Defense
STAT: Rookie quarterback Davis Mills may not have set the NFL on fire last week in his first start in place of injured veteran Tyrod Taylor, but there were promising signs.
Starting a rookie is always a risky move and can backfire. (David Carr, anyone?) Mills’ full debut was not fraught with the newbie usual misfortunes, namely turning the ball over.
Mills threw one interception when he came in against the Cleveland Browns in Week 2, but last week against the Panthers, he went 19 of 28 for 168 yards, one touchdown and, crucially, no picks.
Entering Week 4, Mills had the highest passer rating among rookie quarterbacks at 80.9.
FUN FACT: The Texans are currently 5-4 against the Bills all-time, with Houston having come out on top in four of the last five meetings dating back to 2009.
KEEP AN EYE ON: Houston’s run game last week was nonexistent. The ball carriers were non-entities.
Complimentary football it was not.
If the Texans want to come out of this tough matchup with a surprise victory, they need to balance out on offense. Establish the run game early, but don’t rely on it solely. Mills is more capable than perhaps many had expected, but he cannot be expected to carry this offense. They need to be more balanced, as they were in Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
WELCOME ADDITIONS: Houston, thankfully, will see the welcome returns of three key faces this week.
Starting safety Justin Reid is back after getting hurt against the Browns, as does linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill. Both were sorely missed last week.
Meanwhile, cornerback Terrance Mitchell was upgraded to limited participation Thursday after suffering a concussion against the Browns. If he’s able to go come Sunday, he’d would help shore up a secondary that was harshly exposed by Sam Darnold last week.
Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn returns from IR to bring some stability to special teams, replacing Joey Slye.
UPDATE: Here are the Houston inactives for today: Jordan Jenkins, Danny Amendola (hamstring), Scottie Phillips (illness), Jordan Jenkins, Deshaun Watson (non-injury reasons), Brevin Jordan, Jimmy Moreland (illness).
And yes, Justin Reid (knee), Kamu Grugier-Hill (knee) and Garret Wallow are active.
READ MORE: Texans’ Terrance Mitchell Returns; Justin Reid to Play Sunday?
HOUSTON’S KEY TO VICTORY: As mentioned before, whether or not the Texans can find a balance on offense is crucial.
However, what ultimately cost them last week were defensive vulnerabilities. Coordinator Lovie Smith’s famed Tampa 2 scheme has its issues without key players like Reid and Grugier-Hill.
The center of the field was consistently left wide open last week, with neither safeties Lonnie Johnson nor Eric Murray dropping forward to help cover. And without arguably their best pass-covering linebacker, the Texans were exploited by QB Sam Darnold.
Houston will be facing both one of the best young quarterbacks in Josh Allen and one of the stronger receiving corps in the NFL. The Texans must tighten up on defense, perhaps switch up the formation more often and mix in more man-to-man to make things less predictable.
READ MORE: Texans Cut Kicker, Give Tryout to Eli Ankou: NFL Tracker
GAME TIME: 12:00 p.m. CT, Sunday, Oct. 3
LOCATION: Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
TV/RADIO: CBS, KHOU 11, Sports Radio 610, 100.3 The Bull, Mega 101 FM
THE FINAL WORD: Coach David Culley knows Allen and the Bills’ coaching staff well having worked as their QB coach from 2017-18.
Culley will be aware of Allen’s strengths and, in theory, potential weaknesses. On paper, this should help Houston when it comes to game planning.
That being said, it is rarely ever that simple.
This Bills team is playoff-caliber through and through. This should be Houston’s toughest game yet.
If the Texans are to come away from this with a win, they’ll need to show a level of consistency they have lacked this season. Houston’s offense has faltered and the defense has looked tired in the second half of games this season.
Consistency is the key to a Houston upset.
CONTINUE READING: Texans Rookie Roy Lopez Tackles Starting Job, Dad’s Advice, Cheat Meals
