HOUSTON, Texas — During training camp, the Houston Texans weren’t shy about their goals and aspirations.
Cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. said they were “playing to go all the way,” and wide receiver Nico Collins said the expectation was “Super Bowl.”
On Sunday, the Texans (3-1) get their first test against one of the AFC’s better teams, the Buffalo Bills (3-1). The Bills have 51 regular-season wins (second most) since 2020. They’ve won five playoff games, tied for the second most in the AFC with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Despite a 35-10 loss last week to the Baltimore Ravens, the Bills have been rolling and own the biggest point differential in the AFC (plus-39) heading into Week 5.
But inside NRG Stadium, the Texans say they are viewing this matchup as just another game. They won’t let the outside noise make Sunday in Houston bigger than what it is.
“The matchup really doesn’t matter to me,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It’s ‘can we play our best versus our next opponent?’ All of the storylines on the contenders and all — we’re in Week 5. Let’s be the best team in Week 5, and that’s the only thing that matters and that’s where our focus is. If our focus gets off on anything else this week, then that won’t help us on Sunday.”
There will be a lot of focus on wide receiver Stefon Diggs, though. Diggs was traded from the Bills this offseason after a seemingly rocky breakup. Diggs was in Buffalo from 2020 to 2023. During that time, he was named a first team All-Pro (2020). He had the most receptions (445) and receiving yards (5,372) and was tied for the most receiving touchdowns (37) of any quarterback-receiver duo during that span.
But to Diggs, he says it’s just another game and that he has to “block out the noise.”
“A lot of other people are gonna feel away or have a lot to say about X, Y, Z and I don’t mind. I’m not mad at it,” Diggs said. “Just trying to go 1-0. Obviously, they’re a good team. They have a lot of guys that can fly around on the defense. But they’re a really good team. So I look forward to it.”
But even though this week is just another game, Ryans is “fired up about this matchup,” and Houston has a chance to win at least four games in the first five for the first time 2012.
“With where we are now, we’re just excited for the next one versus the Bills,” Ryans said. “Really good opponent is coming into our house, so we’re excited.”
The other element to this game is the quarterback matchup: C.J. Stroud vs. Josh Allen.
Stroud didn’t face the Bills in his rookie year, but after the Texans and Bills won their divisions last season, the matchup was set.
Allen has finished top-three in MVP voting twice — including last season — and coming into Week 5, he is leading the league in total QBR (82) and spearheading an offense that ranks second in scoring (30.5).
Stroud is coming off a successful rookie campaign and had a historic year where he was named to the Pro Bowl, and he won Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
But when Stroud was asked if the quarterback matchup added excitement, he said “not really.”
“Allen is a heck of a football player, but, of course, yeah, my competitive nature is I want to win my one-on-one,” Stroud said. “But it’s not an added juice or anything. It’s just another week, trying to go 1-0 versus myself. I think whenever I get in my own way is when I play bad or when I don’t play as great as I can. But when I’m focusing on what I’ve got going on, then that’s when I do well.”
Coming into Week 5, the Bills are allowing 20 points per game (12th fewest), holding opposing quarterbacks to a passer rating of 78.1 (fifth lowest) and their 165.3 passing yards allowed per game is the the sixth lowest.
But against the Ravens, they allowed 271 rushing yards — led by running back Derrick Henry, who finished with 199 — and their 156 rushing yards allowed per game ranks 30th entering Week 5.
The Texans have struggled to consistently attack teams on the ground, though. They average 106 yards per game (19th) but only have 214 yards in the past three games, second fewest in the NFL. Running back Joe Mixon’s two-game absence contributed to those struggles (139 rushing yards), and it’s uncertain whether he’ll return this week.
The Texans will lean on their passing game to propel them if Mixon can’t go, and that’s been an effective formula. In the first four weeks, Stroud ranked fifth in passing yards (1,054) and Diggs ranked sixth in receptions (25). Collins became the first player since 1999 to lead the league in receiving yards by over 100 yards through the first four weeks of a season.
“I just let the game come to me,” Collins said. “Step between the lines and just have fun. At the end of the day, it’s just football. That’s the mindset I got to have, be the best one out there and beat the guy in front of me.”
