This has MASSIVE implications for the Bills...

This has massive implications for the Buffalo Bills as they get prepared to take on the Houston Texans in what could be an early AFC championship matchup. So today we we have a matchup analysis for you guys. We're going to break down the Texans roster, some offseason moves that they made, and we'll give our score predictions as to who will win this game. So welcome everybody to Bills Digest. I'm Ben Volker and as always here at Bills Digest, we've got you covered with everything related to the Buffalo Bills. So if you don't want to miss a thing, make sure to hit subscribe and let us know that you want more content just like this. And I say we because today we have a very special guest. We have Isaac Estrada from Texans Digest joining us to talk about the Texans. Isaac, thanks for coming on. How are you doing today, dude? I'm doing phenomenal, Ben. We are back in the full swing of things when it comes to the NFL season. Last night we just saw a guy who we're both not very fond of, Drake May throw three interceptions and a loss so I couldn't be doing any better. Tonight we got some football in Australia and on Sunday we have the noon slate as well. I'm excited to see it. Yeah, no, football's back. We've been waiting for this all summer. It's finally here and I said yesterday Drake May was going to have a bad day against that Seattle defense. I'm happy I was proven right. There will be many more bad days in Drake May's future, I believe. But Isaac, before we jump into this matchup, I just got to say that today's video is sponsored by Calshi. And on Calshi, you're trading directly against other users, not the house like traditional sports books. You're buying yes or no contracts on the outcome of events across sports, politics, or even the weather. For example, this is why I bring up Calshi right now because right now on Calshi, it is a tight race between the Texans and the Bills for who will win on Sunday. Currently the Bills sit at 52%, but as you can see by that chart there, it has been going back and forth for a while now. But if you, like me, believe that the Bills will win on Sunday, you can place $25 on Calshi right now. And if the Bills do indeed win, you could win $48 in return. That's almost double your money. So if you are interested in trying out Calshi, use the link in the description, trade $25 with Code Digest NFL, and get $25 added to your account instantly. Thank you once again to Calshi for sponsoring today's video. And Isaac, let's jump right into things by first starting with last year's matchup between the Bills and the Texans, which the Texans won 23-19. And I got to say, as a Bills fan, this was one of the more shocking losses of their season last year. I definitely, going into the game, didn't think that the Bills were going to lose this one. I thought, it's Davis Mills. He's not a threat. He's not going to do anything. Boy, was I wrong, because the Texans' defense showed up and made a statement win in that Bills game, sacking Josh Allen eight times and making Allen have probably his worst game in a few years. So, Isaac, I want to get your take. Will this be a similar story on Sunday? You know, Ben, I would love to sit here and say, no, it's going to be a competitive matchup. But all the Texans' defense has done in the offseason is get better. We've added a lot of new talent. We've added Reed Blankenship. We've added Logan Hall. You have Will Anderson coming into his prime now. You still got guys like Daniel Hunter, Derrick Stingley Jr. I think this is going to be another rough night for Josh Allen. And again, I talked to you before we got started on this today. I said, hey, Josh Allen is one of the most mobile quarterbacks in the league, so he can move. If I had to choose any quarterback to go up against this Houston defense, I would probably choose Josh Allen. The only issue is when you have Daniel Hunter, you have him on the screen right here, coming off of a year where he had 15 sacks. You have Will Anderson on the other side, coming off of one of his best years of his career. Where can Josh Allen really go? So that's what I'm excited to see from this Houston Texans' defense. And I'm also excited to see how Josh Allen responds. Yeah, no, like you mentioned, this two-headed monster with Will Anderson and Daniel Hunter is a very, very scary force. But I do think that the Bills do stand a better chance this year than they did last year because the two guys on the outside of the Bills' own line, Deion Dawkins and Spencer Brown, they were both pretty banged up going into that game. Deion missed a little bit of time during that game. He came out for a few reps, and they really, really had a rough time against those D-linemen for the Texans. But they're healthy. It's Week 1. There's no injuries. Plus, it's a revamped, a new-look offense for the Bills. Joe Brady is at the helm, at head coach. Plus, they bring in a guy like DJ Moore. I do think that the Bills will fare a lot better against this Texans' defense this year. But, as you said, it is still a very, very scary test in the first game of the Joe Brady era in Buffalo to go up against a top defense in the league. Yeah, I absolutely think it's still going to be a scary sight to see. Like you said, Joe Brady, new head coach, that's going to be really interesting to see. And like you had said, the offensive line, they've gotten a little bit better. You add a guy like DJ Moore, who, although he's not that guy who's going to go get you 1,200, 1,300 yards like he used to, he is still a great addition to your offense. And that's what Josh Allen needs. And what we love about DJ Moore is there's been so many times when you throw it to DJ Moore underneath on the screen and he goes up. And for a team that I don't think is going to have a lot of time against the Houston Texans' defense, I think that's going to be phenomenal for you guys. I think that can only do wonders for you guys. Like you said, offense is getting better. Offense is getting better on the offensive line side. DJ Moore is there to kind of help you guys out. It's only going to be more exciting. Obviously, I hope for, you know, eight to ten sacks again by the Houston Texans' defense. I can't lie. But at the end of the day, regardless, it's still going to be a fun game to watch. Yeah. If there's another eight sacks in this game, we might have to start sounding the alarm bells here in Buffalo a little bit earlier than expected this year. But let's move on to how the Texans are looking health-wise. We talked about the bills yesterday and they have Khalil Shakir back at practice and he is projected to start in Week 1. But let's take a look at the Texans' injury list here. And it's not very long here in Week 1, is it, Isaac? No, absolutely not. And you love to see it as a Houston Texans fan. You love to see it. Obviously, there's still some guys on that list that you hate to see go, however. Let's start off with my guy, Trent Brown. Obviously, he had some issues coming onto this team, being signed, then being released, then coming back. But Trent Brown, regardless, is still one of the best players at his position at tackle, I believe. He's still a veteran offensive presence. And for an offensive line in the Houston Texans, that was arguably the worst in the NFL. The way your offensive line looked against the Houston Texans' defense, that's the way we look every single week against every other team offensive line-wise. We really struggled. So seeing Trent Brown be out, obviously, you hate, you hate, you hate to see that. But other than that, our second-round defensive tackle from Ohio State, Kayden McDonald. I was so excited to see that young man hit the field. I was like, oh my goodness, this is going to be even better having a defensive tackle right there. You got Will Anderson Jr., you got Neil Hunter coming off the side. No. Obviously, he's having those ankle issues. And I talked to you before we started recording. I don't think it's a bad thing. Make sure this young man is 100%. Make sure he's going to go on that field being the best possible player he can. And I think, obviously, when we talk about the Houston Texans' defense being arguably the best in the league, you sit there and you say, you know, we already have one of the best defenses in the league. Do we really need to rush our round two rookie? Do we really need to rush him in ASAP? I don't think so. So you hate to see it. But either way, I still like the way this team shapes up. Yeah, no, that's where my head is at with him, because there are just so many weapons on that Houston defense. It's like, are they really going to be hurting for him? I don't think so. I think the bigger piece that they do have coming back is Trent Brown, because we talk about this more on your channel. And you can go check that out after this if you want to hear more. But I do think if the Bills want to win this game, it will be in the trenches with their revamped defensive line in that 4-3 scheme that Jim Leonard's bringing. But you can go check out our video on Texans Digest for more on that. But having a guy like Trent Brown on the Texans O-line does make that a little bit more difficult. But now let's move on to a few guys that the Texans did acquire during the offseason that really stood out to you and could also make a difference in this game. I know you mentioned one earlier, but you want to talk about him a little bit more now, Yeah, let's talk about my guy Reid Blankenship's safety. We signed him this past offseason, obviously coming off of that Philadelphia defense. And you'll love to see it. We saw it two years ago, Ben. Philadelphia defense took them to the Super Bowl, and that's where they ended up putting a whooping on the Kansas City Chiefs. And you'll love to see it. You'll love to see a guy go like that. Go from Philadelphia to the Houston Texans. I think he immediately is going to be a great addition to this defense. On top of that, he had 83 combined tackles this past season. Had himself an interception for the Philadelphia Eagles. I think only great things to come. It's almost like you have one of the best weapons in a video game, and you just keep adding additions to it, and you keep doing it over and over. And you're like, how can this get any better? And then you put on a red laser on it or something. That's how I imagine Reid Blankenship fits on this team. So you'd love to see it. And then also another guy I very quickly want to talk about is David Montgomery. We took him away from the jaws of the cold in Michigan, and we brought him here to the peak in Houston Texans. There's our guy on the screen right there. I'm excited to see the way he shapes on this offensive line. The offensive line is revamped. We got a few guys new on this team. We obviously drafted a guy ourselves. Won't get too deep into that, but I would love to see how him and second-year man Woody Marks team up against each other to take on, like you said, what could be a revamped, even better Buffalo defense. Yeah, yeah, and we were talking before we recorded. I feel like the Bills' biggest weakness last year wasn't their receiver room. I thought it was their inability to stop the run. You saw every single game where they would just allow guys. They would just shed tackles and run 20 yards down the field. It was one week after another. You had Henry and then Bijan Robinson and then Devon A. Chain all go for their best games of the season against the Bills. And when the Bills traveled to Houston last year, it was Woody Marks that had his probably his best game of his rookie season last year, totaling 70 yards. So, Isaac, what do you think this split is going to look like between Montgomery and Woody Marks? Well, the good news about David Montgomery is he's coming from a team where he already knows his role. They had Sonic and Knuckles there in Detroit, and I think he's going to have a very similar role. Obviously, Woody Marks is a bit more of a powerhouse than Jameer Gibbs is, but I still think Woody Marks is going to be that first and second down back. You hand it off to a fresh David Montgomery on third down, you give it to a offensive line. I think that can only be great things for the Houston Texans. Well, we shall see because this Bills defense is supposed to be a lot more aggressive at stopping the run, but we'll have to see on Sunday. But let's get to our game picks, but really quick, before we do that, we want to hear from you guys who will win on Sunday. Will it be the Bills or will it be the Houston Texans? Leave your score predictions down below and let us know what you think. Isaac, let's just get right into our score predictions. I'll go first here and obviously, you know, I've got a ride with my Buffalo Bills in this one. I do think as we were talking about, it is going to be low scoring. This might be the Bills lowest scoring game of the year. I think that if they're going to win, they have to play into the Texan style of football and win in the trenches. But I've got the Bills winning 20 to 17 in a close one. Absolutely. And I love your ability to be able to trust your guys. I will say that. However, I think this Houston defense is going to be very disruptive. I think CJ Straub's coming in with a chip on his shoulder. I'm going to take my guys 27 to 17. I know you're thinking a 10 point deficit really. I'm going to go big here. I'm going to go big or go home and I'm going to tuck my tail between my legs if we lose really badly. But that's what I'm going. Yeah, you might, you might have a lot of Bills fans upset with you after this. Don't hit me. No, I 10 point win double digits. That seems like a lot to me. I do think whichever way this shapes out, I do think it will be a one score game either way. But anyways, Isaac, although we disagree on the final score, thank you so much for coming in today and talking all things related to this game with me. If you guys want to see more of Isaac's content, you can go over to Texans Digest. We'll have a link in the description and you can see me talk about the Bills on his channel as well. Thank you once again, Isaac, for coming in. Of course. All right. And as always, thanks for watching guys and go Bills!