The Buffalo Bills (10-6) are back in the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, qualifying as the AFC’s top Wild Card team and the No. 5 seed. The Bills travel to Texas to face the No. 4 seed and AFC South champion Houston Texans (10-6) at 4:35 p.m. Saturday in the first of four Wild Card clashes this weekend.
Buffalo is searching for the franchise’s first playoff win since the 1995 season, when the Bills defeated the Miami Dolphins 37-22 in the Wild Card round on Dec. 30, 1995.
This playoff showdown marks the tenth meeting all-time between Buffalo and Houston, with the Texans prevailing in five of the previous nine contests. The last time the Bills traveled to Houston, on Oct. 14, 2018, Buffalo sacked Deshaun Watson seven times, but Nathan Peterman was picked off twice (once for a pick-six) and the Bills fell 20-13 despite their dominant defense forcing five turnovers.
Josh Allen completed 10 of 17 passes for 84 yards before leaving with a right elbow injury, and the offense struggled all day, putting up only 53 total yards of offense in the first half. Shoddy special teams also directly led to 10 Texans’ points.
Saturday will be Buffalo’s 31st all-time playoff game, with the Bills looking to improve upon their 14-16 record in the postseason. The last time Buffalo made the playoffs, the Bills dropped a 10-3 decision to the Jacksonville Jaguars in a Wild Card game on Jan. 7, 2018. The Bills’ defense held Blake Bortles to 87 passing yards, but Bortles rushed ten times for 88 yards and hit backup tight end Ben Koyack for a one-yard touchdown on a fourth-and-goal play late in the third quarter to propel the Jaguars to the win.
The Bills are 3-4 in Wild Card games, but have dropped their last four in the first round since earning that 37-22 win over the Dolphins during the 1995 season.
This is Houston’s ninth postseason game, with the Texans having won three of their first eight playoff games in franchise history. The last time the Texans were in the postseason, they suffered a 21-7 loss to Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts in a Wild Card game on Jan. 5, 2019. The Texans are 3-2 all-time in the Wild Card round.
Here’s how to watch Saturday’s game from home:
TV/Streaming/Radio Schedule
Date: Saturday, January 4, 2020
Time: 4:35 p.m. Eastern
Channel: The game will be carried nationally on ABC and ESPN.
Announcers: Joe Tessitore (play-by-play) and Booger McFarland (analyst).
Streaming: FuboTV
Location: NRG Stadium | Houston, TX
Radio: The game will be broadcast nationally on Westwood One. Locally, the game will be broadcast on WGR 550 AM (Buffalo), WCMF 96.5 FM and WROC 950 AM (Rochester), Fan 590 AM (Toronto), WTKW 99.5 FM and WKTV 105.5 FM (Syracuse), and the rest of the Buffalo Bills Radio Network.
Radio Play-by-Play: John Murphy and Eric Wood in the booth with sideline reporter Sal Capaccio.
Online: NFL Game Pass, NFL.com Game Center
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Injury Report
Buffalo Bills
- Limited participant Thursday: DE Shaq Lawson (hamstring), T Ty Nsekhe (ankle), WR/returner Andre Roberts (foot), CB Levi Wallace (ankle). All four are listed as questionable for the Wild Card game.
Houston Texans
- Full participant Thursday: OLB Jacob Martin (knee), WR Kenny Stills (knee), T Laremy Tunsil (ankle), TE Jordan Thomas (illness), DE J.J. Watt (shoulder).
- Limited participant: S Jahleel Addae (achilles), TE Jordan Akins (hamstring). WR Will Fuller V (groin), CB Johnathan Joseph (hamstring), CB Bradley Roby (hamstring). Addae, Akins, Fuller, Joseph and Roby are all questionable.