Only the Kansas City Chiefs (10 seasons) have a longer active playoff streak in the NFL these days than the Buffalo Bills (6). Buffalo has won five straight AFC East titles, also the second-longest streak of its kind in the league. With seven weeks to play, Sean McDermott’s club has a challenge ahead of itself. The 7-3 Bills trail the blistering-hot 9-2 New England Patriots, winners of eight straight games, in the division standings.
The Houston Texans are in a similar situation. Winners of the AFC South the past two seasons (and with eight division titles since 2011), are in third place in their division. They trail the second-place Jacksonville Jaguars (6-4) by one game, and are three games behind the 8-2 Indianapolis Colts. The saving grace for DeMeco Ryans’s club is the fact that they own a 3-1 record within the division, and still have two games with the Colts this season.
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The Bills and Texans renew acquaintances on Thursday night at Houston. Once again, Ryans’s squad will be without starting quarterback C.J. Stroud and Davis Mills gest the start for the third consecutive game.
Including a 22-19 overtime playoff win at home in 2019, which happened to be Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen’s first postseason start, the Texans own a 7-5 overall edge in this short-lived series. The teams battled last season in Week 5 at Houston, and Ryans’s club came up with a 23-20 victory. Dating back to 2012 (including playoffs), the Bills have dropped five straight games at Houston.
Josh Allen fumble
Bills quarterback Josh Allen has the ball stripped by Texans linebacker Whitney Mercilus. The turnover led to a Houston field goal in a 22-19 Texans overtime win to knock the Bills out of the playoffs. / Jamie Germano / USA TODAY NETWORK
Buffalo has scored 28-plus points in each of their seven wins, and a combined 47 points in three losses. Joe Brady’s offensive unit has totaled 37 touchdowns (19 rushing, 18 passing)—31 in the seven victories. And the miscues are adding up. On Sunday, Buffalo totaled three turnovers for the second straight week, but managed to beat the Bucs.
The Texans are 5-2 in their last seven games after a 0-3 start. Seven of their 10 games have been decided by single digits. After committing five turnovers during their first three games, Houston has given up the football only four times in their last seven outings. Ryan’s squad has played turnover-free football in four of those seven contests.
Hunter and Anderson
Nov 16, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Houston Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter (55) celebrates after the sack of Tennessee Titans quarterback Cameron Ward (1) / Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Another week and another horrendous showing by Buffalo’s run defense. Tampa Bay rolled up 202 yards on the ground despite the loss. McDermott’s club is allowing 153.0 yards per game on the ground. That’s nearly 40 more yards per game (115.5) than a season ago. Buffalo has allowed 17 rushing TDs, four more than in all of 2024 (13).
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One of the reasons that the Texans have allowed the fewest points per game in the league (16.3) are the pair of bookends on the defensive line. Danielle Hunter (9.0) and Will Anderson Jr. (8.0) have combined for 17.0 of the club’s 25 sacks. Only two edge rushers have a better grade via PFF than Anderson, while Hunter is No. 7 on the list.
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