The Buffalo Bills will visit the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on “Thursday Night Football” with a big win on the line.
For this AFC battle between Sean McDermott’s Bills (7-3) DeMeco Ryans’ Texans (5-5), it will be the games, within the game, that will make all the difference.
Here are Bills Wire’s three key matchups to watch during Week 12’s Bills at Texans game:
OL Spencer Brown vs. DE Will Anderson Jr.
Danielle Hunter leads the Texans with nine sacks but it’s Anderson who is named the third-best pass rusher in the NFL by Pro Football Focus. To his credit, Anderson does have eight sacks himself and Brown must give quarterback Josh Allen time to work even with such a difficult matchup ahead of him.
Brown could be up to the task, though. PFF grades Brown as the NFL’s 11th best offensive tackle in the NFL currently and the Bills’ best offensive lineman.
RB James Cook vs. LB Azeez Al-Shaair
Because of the successes of the defensive line, Houston the top defense in 2025. The Texans are the No. 1 defense in the NFL, only allowing 258.1 yards per game.
While the Bills won last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when Cook had a subpar stat line, it’s clear that the Bills perform better on offense when Cook has a good game.
Cook needs to have a bounce-back effort.
DE Joey Bosa vs. OL Trent Brown
With the Texans starting quarterback Davis Mills, it could be a good day for the Bills’ pass rush.
Not only does Houston’s offensive line struggle at times this season, Mills is not a mobile quarterback. Bosa leads Buffalo with four sacks and should beat up on Brown. PFF grades Brown a lowly 55.6 overall mark in 2025.