Bills face another must win game this Sunday against Texans

Is this thing on?

Because it could be turning off very soon.

The Buffalo Bills return home to Ralph Wilson Stadium this Sunday afternoon in a must-win game against the red-hot Houston Texans.

If last weekend’s game vs. the Kansas City Chiefs was the start of the playoffs, then the entire season is on the line for the Bills this weekend.

With a loss, Buffalo can all but kiss its chances of ending their 15-year playoff drought goodbye.

The Texans (6-5), winners of four straight, hold the AFC’s final playoff spot, and sit a game ahead of the Bills (5-6).  Win a win, the Bills can get themselves right back in the race at 6-6, with four winnable games on their schedule to end their season with.

A loss would send them spiraling down to the bottom of the standings, without enough time to make up ground in the log-jam that is the current AFC playoff race.

The current state of the team has been well discussed over this past week.

Is Tyrod Taylor actually a quarterback the team can build around, after stretches of play this year show how much the young signal-caller still has to improve and learn?

And what the heck is going on with the defense?  How can a Rex Ryan coached squad be sitting at the middle of the pack in every defensive category (15th in points allowed, 19th in yards allowed, 22nd against the pass and 14th against the run), after the same group of players finished 4th in total defense just a season ago?

To this point in the season, it hasn’t really seemed like anything different from years past in Western New York.

The team floats around .500, winning games here and there while usually dropping a stinker in one of the final weeks to eliminate them from contention.

If the Bills want to change the fortunes of this year, a win against the Texans is needed, or it is just another lost year.

The underperforming defense didn’t get much help from the injury report, as linebacker Nigel Bradham has been ruled out, All Pro Kyle Williams was officially moved to the Injured Reserve earlier in the week and defensive end Mario Williams is still questionable with his foot injury.

News isn’t much better on the other side of the ball, as Buffalo will be missing two starters and a main contributor on offense as well.

Right guard John Miller and right tackle Seantrel Henderson have both been ruled out already.  Running back Karlos Williams is also going to miss his fourth game of the year, leaving Buffalo with just two active running backs on their roster.

Facing the Texans, you want the right side of your line to be in full health.  Now Jordan Mills and Kraig Urbik  will be tasked with trying to slow down MVP candidate J.J. Watt (they won’t).

If Buffalo wants to stick around, they are going to need something out of their offense, to go with a defensive effort that the team put out a few times earlier in the season.

Despite their record, there is no one on the Texans offense outside of DeAndre Hopkins (81 receptions, 1081 yards, 9 touchdowns) who should be feared in the game plan.

Brian Hoyer is their starting quarterback.

Alfred Blue is their starting tailback.

There is no reason the Texans should have any success against Buffalo’s defense, if the Bills’ unit shows up to play in this one.

On the other side of the ball, you have a team in Houston with a blue-print similar to Buffalo’s; score enough points for your top-ranked defense to escape with the victory.

The Texans come into the game as one of the league’s best against the pass (just 219.6 yards per game, ranked 4th).  They will be putting a ton of pressure on Taylor to get the ball out of his hands quickly.

Even with running back LeSean McCoy in the backfield, expect the Texans to stack the box and force Taylor to beat them with his arm.

It’s a plan that has worked to team’s success against Buffalo in the past.

It can’t repeat if the Bills still want meaningful games to play for the rest of the season.