Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Buffalo 31 at Houston 24 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Buffalo Bills: The Bills seemed determined to establish the running game early, which they accomplished very effectively. However, due to their poor defensive play the game once again was won by QB Drew Bledsoe's right arm. This consequently keeps him as one of the top fantasy quarterbacks during this season. RB Travis Henry coughed up the ball late in the game deep in Buffalo's own zone, but somewhat surprisingly Gregg Williams sent him back out on the next possession and kept feeding him the ball. Major endorsement from Williams there who had been keeping Henry on a pretty short leash with the fumbles. The WR duo of Peerless Price and Eric Moulds continued to dominate. Each receiver had 9 targets, and both players caught touchdown passes. While the players are basically equal fantasy wise, Moulds is still regarded more and it may be easier to acquire Price. Houston Texans: QB David Carr continues to improve every week. He made some veteran decisions on the field and put Houston in a position to win the game. Has a cannon for a right arm, and OC Chris Palmer was quoted as saying that the Texans would try and throw the deep bomb about four times a game. RB Jonathan Wells bulled Buffalo for 70 yards on just 12 carries (5.8 ypc). As the game wore on he became the focus of the Texan offense, as opposed to James Allen. WR Corey Bradford is a legitimate deep threat and also David Carr's favorite receiver. He grabbed an 81-yard pass on Houston's first play from scrimmage and also just barely dropped a pass in the end zone. He may still be a free agent in some leagues. Even though they gave up 31 points, the Houston defense is becoming a force. Eric Moulds entered the game with a league leading 41 receptions but was held without a catch in the first half and finished the day with 4. Drew Bledsoe still very effective, but he was held to his lowest total of the year by this Texan Defense. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Buffalo Bills QB: Drew Bledsoe continues to carry this team. The Bills defense showed no signs of improvement, and until this happens Bledsoe is a must start every week. Like Kansas City, every game that Buffalo is involved in goes down to the wire and already two have gone into overtime. His passing yardage was down, but OC Kevin Gilbride tried to establish the run early. After a quiet 1st half, Bledsoe connected on 2 touchdowns in the 4th quarter. He did have one touchdown pass dropped and another called back on a personal foul penalty. He finished the day 254 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. This was his lowest output of the season. RB: Travis Henry rushed for 159 yards and 2 touchdowns. He had a key fumble at the start of the fourth quarter, but HC Gregg Williams left him in the game. Henry also is becoming a bigger factor out of the backfield. As long as Buffalo's offense continues to score a lot of points, Henry will get plenty of red zone opportunities. A Drew Bledsoe TD pass to Jay Riemersma was called back because of a personal foul (leg whipping) on Henry. Henry responded by running in a 23 yard TD on the next play. Larry Centers only touched the football 3 times, but 2 of those touches were for 1st downs. Shawn Bryson was not a factor. TE: With Dave Moore not playing, TE Jay Reimersma became a bigger factor in Buffalo's offensive game plan. He hauled in 3 catches for 24 yards (5 targets), and had a touchdown reception called back due to a leg whip by RB Travis Henry. WR: Eric Moulds did not have a reception in the first half, but the NFL leader in receptions made some key plays in the second half, including a 23-yard touchdown. He only finished with 56 yards, but was thrown to 9 times during the game. Peerless Price had another outstanding game, with 8 catches for 121-yards and a touchdown that featured a great juke on DB Matt Stevens. Unlike the last two years, Peerless Price has been consistent week in and week out. Bledsoe threw to him 9 times as well. Defensive opponents are having to go with the "pick your poison" approach to Buffalo's wideouts. Rookie Josh Reed's emergence has brought a whole new dimension to Buffalo's offense, but there may not be enough balls to go around. He finished with just 1 catch for 28-yards, but showed the grit it takes to be an NFL receiver as he got smacked on the play. He also caught a touchdown pass that was called incomplete. It was challenged but was not overturned. Rush Defense: While Houston garnered 141 rushing yards, most of the damage against the Bills defense was done on penalties. For most of the game it was tough to tell which team was the expansion team. In the second half, RB Jonathan Wells also started ripping Buffalo for huge chunks of yardage. The delay draw play looked to be the most effective. Pass Defense: From the first passing play of the game, a 81-yard pass to Corey Bradford, QB David Carr and the Houston offense picked apart the Buffalo secondary, most noticeably Chris Watson. Plays involving Watson included the 81-yard pass, and Jabar Gaffney's touchdown reception. After spending a few first round picks on defensive backs the past few seasons, Buffalo has to be disappointed in the play of their secondary. Special Teams: K Mike Hollis is about as dependable as they come. PR/KR Charlie Rogers made some nice returns, and is always a threat to break one all the way. They shut down the Houston return game, keeping Jermaine Lewis in check. Also too many costly penalties, including a kickoff that went out of bounds late in the game. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Houston Texans QB: For the first time in his pro career, David Carr didn't throw an interception in the game. His game opening 81 yard pass was the longest in his pro and college career. It also was the 3rd longest pass play by an expansion team. Carr had an excellent 1st half. He had 200 yards passing and a touchdown. He also had a 17 yard rushing touchdown in the 1st half. But he was shut down in the 2nd half. He finished with 218 yards passing and 1 TD. He had 50 yards rushing and a TD on the ground. Corey Bradford was not able to hang on to TD pass on the opening drive. Carr's performance was probably what the Houston franchise had in mind when they drafted him #1 overall in April. He has a rocket arm and thinks very quickly on his feet. He almost led Houston to a tie late in the game. The offense used more 6-7 step drop backs which seemed to limit the pressure on him. Hopefully this will provide Carr an opportunity to make it through the whole season. Could be special. RB: James Allen started the game, but after an ineffective day, including getting stuffed in the red zone three times, he gave way to Jonathan Wells. This has to look all to familiar to Allen, who suffered the same fate in Chicago last year with the emergence of Anthony Thomas. Jonathan Wells rumbled for 70 yards on just 12 carries, and seems to have overtaken Allen for the primary RB job. A nice pickup, as this bruiser fits right in with the great defense/run the ball look that Houston has become. As long as the Texans stay close in games, he becomes a factor. Houston scored their first rushing touchdown on the season (David Carr), and Wells looks like a solid candidate to add to that total. Probably still available in many leagues. WR: Corey Bradford and David Carr really seem to be on the same page, and hooked up 5 times for 126 yards, with of course the 81-yarder on the first play from scrimmage. He is also a sizeable red zone target, and barely dropped a td. His stock is rising by the week. Jabar Gaffney caught his first NFL touchdown pass, one of 3 catches on the day. (4 targets). With teams starting to double team Corey Bradford, he is starting to become a viable second option, and should start to contribute more as the season progresses. TE: If you're desperate for a tight end, Billy Miller might be your guy He only had 3 catches, but was used in the red zone, and grabbed another touchdown catch. He was almost the recipient of a James Allen halfback toss for a second touchdown. Rush Defense: Was obviously ineffective stopping Travis Henry, but could not commit to many defenders up to the line with the threat of Buffalo's receiving corps. Buffalo ran especially strong towards the left side of the Houston D. Pass Defense: Caused problems for Drew Bledsoe all day, learning from Oakland to flush him out of the pocket. Held the Buffalo WR's down for most of the game, but finally cracked in the fourth quarter. An experienced bunch who could be a sneaky play if the matchup is right. Special Teams: K Kris Brown was solid again, hitting his only field goal. He also sent a kickoff out of bounds, which gave Buffalo excellent field position on what turned out to be the game winning drive. PR/KR Jermaine Lewis was stymied by the Bills improved special teams.