The Houston Texans and the Buffalo Bills each enter Sunday’s matchup with a 2-3 record. The Bills pulled off improbable victories against the Minnesota Vikings and the Tennessee Titans, while the Texans defeated the Indianapolis Colts and the Dallas Cowboys after beginning the season 0-3.
Though the teams have the same record, they are in completely different situations. Houston is widely thought of as an up-and-coming squad, complete with a stout defense and an exciting young quarterback in Deshaun Watson. The Bills, on the other hand, are known nationally as one of the worst rosters in the NFL, with a rookie quarterback in Josh Allen who is so raw that he has yet to show much more than brief flashes of the talent that made him the seventh overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.
Most people would advise you to stay away from playing Bills players in fantasy football; however, the same cannot be said for Texans players. Here are a few who could be in line for a solid day this weekend against our Bills.
WR Keke Coutee
It would be so easy to recommend that you play all-world receiver DeAndre Hopkins on Sunday. Recommending that you play Hopkins would be like you recommending that I have a Guinness—it’s pretty obvious that I already know how delicious it is, just like you already know that Hopkins is too good to bench, well, ever. Enter the rookie Coutee, who has more receptions (17) in his two career games than Buffalo’s leading receiver, Zay Jones, has in all five games this year (13). Coutee also has nearly as many receiving yards as Jones, with his 160 yards putting him 4 yards behind Jones. Will Fuller V was thought by many to be the clear second option for Deshaun Watson, but Coutee has shown that he is a dangerous threat in his limited chances. With a rushing attack headed by Lamar Miller and Alfred Blue that does not strike fear into most defensive coordinators combining with a stud number one receiver for opponents to fret over, Coutee is in the middle of the perfect matchup storm.
K Ka’imi Fairbairn
Houston’s placekicker is incredibly accurate, having nailed 13-of-16 field goals thus far on the season. Two of his three misses have been on kicks over 50 yards, and the other was on a kick of over 40 yards. So, while he may be accurate, his leg isn’t the strongest in the league. His reliability is what makes him a good play, but another reason is how strong Buffalo has played defensively over the last 3 weeks. If the Bills can keep playing well defensively, then Fairbairn becomes an even better play.
Texans D/ST
The Texans have 13 quarterback sacks in 5 games this year. Josh Allen has taken a league-leading 19 sacks this season. J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney should be salivating this weekend over the prospect of chasing down a rookie quarterback who tends to hold the ball for a long time. Houston has also forced 7 turnovers in 2018, and Allen threw 2 picks and lost a fumble in his last road effort.