Buffalo Bills dominated by J.J. Watt and Houston Texans in unprecedented fashion
By Cory Buck
J.J. Watt led the Houston Texans in a home victory over the Buffalo Bills to propel their record to 3-1 while leaving the Bills in the dust at 2-2. The Texans defense got two sacks and two interceptions in a 23-17 record, which is impressive enough, but a deeper look into the numbers shows a whole new level of dominance that may not have been immediately evident.
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Per ESPN Stats & Information, “the Bills’ offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage on just 34.6 percent of pass plays, more than 4 percentage points lower than any other team in any game this season.”
In fact, the Buffalo offensive line was so bad in Houston that only two teams did that poorly last season — Arizona and, surprisingly, Seattle, in Weeks 7 and 9 respectively.
The Bills had two rookies starting on their offensive line — Cyril Richardson at guard and Seantrel Henderson at tackle — which certainly contributed to the team’s struggles, but the pressure goes beyond mere matchups. The coaching staff insisted on calling pass play after pass play even as the game was close and Buffalo’s clear offensive strength is its running game.
Instead of working to tire out Watt and the rest of the undersized Houston front seven, the Bills played right into Houston’s hands, which led to Buffalo’s demise. We knew the Texans defense was dominating Buffalo when the Bills tried to pass, but the numbers reveal that this domination was almost unprecedented.
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