The Buffalo Bills will look to bounce back from a disappointing 22-10 loss last week to the San Diego Chargers when they travel south to Houston to face the resurgent Texans as 3-point underdogs in NFL online betting.
It has been a roller-coaster campaign for the Bills, who struggled throughout the pre-season, including the Hall-of-Fame Game in which the New York Giants defeated the Buffalo Bills, 17-13. Buffalo posted just one win in five pre-season games as a cloud of uncertainty over the franchise’s future in Western New York loomed ominously.
The team was put up for sale following the death of Bills’ founder Ralph Wilson earlier this year. But with Terry Pegula, who also owns the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres, taking over the reins in a deal worth over $1 billion, the focus can return to Buffalo’s best start in four years.
Buffalo led the parade of upsets in Week 1, shocking the heavily favored Chicago Bears, with a 23-20 victory in a game where they were pegged as 6.5-point road underdogs. The Bills then followed up with a confident 29-10 win over their AFC East division rivals, the Miami Dolphins.
Bills fans captured a glimpse of what the future may hold in Buffalo’s win over the Dolphins, as quarterback EJ Manuel and rookie wide receiver Sammy Watkins showed the chemistry that Bills management were hoping to see when they selected Watkins fourth overall in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Watkins caught eight passes from Manuel in the game, compiling 117 yards and scoring his first TD as a pro.
The Bills will need more of the same out of their burgeoning dynamic duo when they take on the Texans, who have held opponents to just 16.7 points per game in the early going of the NFL season.
After suffering through a horrific 2013 season, in which they lost 14 straight following a pair of wins to start the season, the 2-1 Texans have looked strong in wins over the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders.
However, the Texans’ defense was solved by a New York Giants squad that ran all over Houston, amassing 193 yards on the ground, reroute to a 30-17 win.
Texans QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, who spent four years with the Bills, connected for 289 passing yards against New York, but his three interceptions on the day translated into 10 Giants points, denying the Texans a 3-0 start.
The Bills, who have won two of their last three in Houston, will need to duplicate the Giants’ defensive efforts against their former quarterback if they wish to improve to 3-1 and maintain their spot atop the AFC East.
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