The Bills head to Houston to face off against the Texans on Thursday Night Football in a short week following Buffalo’s Sunday home win over the Bucs.

QB Josh Allen is 0-3 in Houston, the Bills have lost their last five road games there, scoring 15.6 ppg without ever scoring more than 20 points during that stretch, and the team has not won there since 2006.

Sean McDermott’s club also dropped a tough loss against Houston last season due to some poor game calling and management last season.

Entering a crucial stretch of the season where wins become even more important and valuable, now is as good a time as any to break the losing streak against the Texans.

Here are three keys to a Buffalo Bills victory against the Houston Texans in NFL Week 12:

Tempo Offense

The Texans have the best defense in the NFL and are holding opponents to 258.1 yards per game thanks to their defensive line. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady and QB Josh Allen finally started throwing the ball to RB1 James Cook out ahead of the line of scrimmage in the Bucs game to great results and a winning effort.

If Allen gets a good tempo and rhythm going on offense by getting the ball out quickly and throwing ahead of the line instead of behind it, or relying too much on the run game, it bypasses the Texans’ greatest strength.

He still may have the opportunity to pass Cam Newton (75) for the most rushing touchdowns by a QB in NFL history, though the Texans are one of three teams to not allow a rushing score to a quarterback this season, along with the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts.

Pocket Pressure

Texans starting quarterback C.J. Stroud is still out, returning from a concussion symptom protocol, and so pure pocket passer and non-mobile QB Davis Mills will be leading Houston’s offense.

Buffalo’s defensive ends and edge rushers, such as Joey Bosa, who leads the team with four sacks, can apply pressure to Mills and to Houston’s passing game, which can also create opportunities for the Bills’ secondary.

If the team can do so and improve their run defense, they can do their part effectively toward a victory.

Passing Playmakers

The Bills’ passing game finally showed glimmers of hope in Sunday’s win over Tampa Bay. Part of that success was due to getting some of the team’s other targets involved against their linebackers’ group.

Houston’s LBs offer similar opportunities, notably against play action and plays up the middle.

Tyrell Shavers ranked first among all qualifying Bills receivers in target separation (6.0) in week 11, which was significant due to separation being an issue all season downfield and on the boundary. He also led Buffalo with 90 receiving yards on four receptions and a touchdown.

Reports indicate Keon Coleman may be a healthy scratch again this week, and Gabe Davis has re-emerged as a pass-catching option for Josh Allen after his first week back in gameplay for Buffalo (with Jacksonville footing the $11.5M pricetag for him to play for their AFC rival).

As they are facing the NFL’s best defensive line, Buffalo should again feed the passing game to playmakers.