Official Texans @ Bills Game Thread, 10/3/2021

[Arky]

The 1-2 Texans shuffle off to Buffalo this weekend to play the 2-1 Bills in a Sunday early game on CBS. The Texans are coming off a TNF home loss to the Carolina Panthers 24-9. The Bills are coming off a 43-21 home win over the Washingtons. ESPN has the Bills at # 3 in the Power Rankings, the Texans at #28. The Bills are expected to bring the offense having scored 78 points in the last two weeks. The Bills somehow lost in Week 1 to the Steelers even though they out-gained them in most of the offensive categories. The Steelers were the Stealers that day as they stole one.

The Texans are going to need points and I don't think there is a way they can keep up with the Bills. The Texan defense will need a few turnovers just to keep the game close, IMO. So far, the defense has allowed 28 first half points and 48 second half points. Whether this is from conditioning or the other team making adjustment, I dunno but they are showing to fade late in games.

The game could very well be a blowout but 16 points is too many to give so I've got it:

Bills 33, Texans 20

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TV = CBS (channel 11 local), Sunday, noon, 10/3/2021

Announcers = Beth Mowins, Tiki Barber

The line = Bills by 16 to 16½

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Other Sunday viewing in the Houston area:

FOX (early) = Carolina @ Dallas, Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen

CBS (late) = Pittsburgh @ Green Bay, Jim Nantz, Tony Romo

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Prime time:

TNF = Jacksonville @ Cincinnati (NFLN)

SNF = Tampa Bay @ New England (NBC)

MNF = Las Vegas @ LA Chargers (ESPN)

[Keith]

The Texans best hope is that this is a trap game for the Bills of sorts. At least from the perspective of the Bills looking ahead to a Week 5 Sunday Night showdown at the Chiefs. So I'd take the points here and hope the Bills lack interest in blowing this out through the air.

Bills 31 - Texans 16

The Texans are three weeks into the season and in second place in their division. I did not expect that to happen so I am going to enjoy it while it lasts ...three more days.

[Arky]

Beth Mowins and Tiki Barber on the call is interesting. CBS really digging into the reserves....

506Sports is showing zero Beth Mowins games in the first 3 weeks so this may be her first NFL game. Gotta be the first time a woman has called a Texan game. Tiki has worked this year with Andrew Catalon who it seems usually has James Lofton as a partner.

So, interesting assignments. Kinda like to know the story behind these decisions. BTW, Mowins is not bad - listened to many of her ESPN college broadcasts.... she usually does a good job.

[Arky]

Here's an article on Beth Mowins doing the game:

Broadcasting pioneer Beth Mowins to call Bills game, making some fans shout unfairly

The initial reaction to my announcement on Twitter late last week that Beth Mowins will be the CBS play-by-play announcer for the Buffalo Bills game Sunday against the Houston Texans alongside Tiki Barber made me think some Western New Yorkers haven’t come a long way, baby.

The announcement made some Bills fans want to shout some unfair things.

“Oh my (expletive deleted) god. Do the networks really hate us that much?” replied one follower.

“For a team that’s supposed to be a Super Bowl contender, we’re sure not getting any respect from the networks," wrote another.

“God. Help us,” wrote another.

“She’s awful,” wrote another.

But to my relief, followers soon came to Mowins’ defense.

“It might be unpopular, but I like Mowins,” wrote one follower.

“She’s good actually,” wrote another.

“I see a lot of woman sports announcers hate here,” wrote another. “She’s good in everything she covers.”

“She’s good, because she makes it about the GAME, not her,” wrote another.

Mowins, who was born in Syracuse and earned a master’s degree from Syracuse University, is better known for doing college sports but has been doing NFL games since 2017. She isn’t a CBS regular, doing just “select games” for the network.

She has worked two Bills games in the last four years, including the Bills’ 42-17 win over the Miami Dolphins in the 2018 season finale.

I wasn’t surprised that she received a lot of unwarranted criticism on social networks back then.

My review was much kinder. I wrote: “If fans can get past her voice – and that’s apparently a tall order for many critical men and even some women – she did a fine job. She misidentified a few players … But that happens to every play-by-play person. Other than that, Mowins illustrated that she does her homework, asks the right questions, has a decent excitement level and generally does everything you’d expect a play-by-play person to do.”

More at link.

[Arky]

Texans go 3 and out on the opening kickoff. A Tytus Howard holding call, a fumble by Davis Mills that he recovers....

Punt.

Allen throws an INT to Lonnie Johnson! Texans in the red zone.

Rain expected all game long.

12:22 left in the 1st qtr.

Texans going for it on 4th and 2.

Pass is tipped inc. Bills takeover on downs at their 6 yard line. Opportunity missed......

10:07 left in the 1st qtr.

[Arky]

Allen hits Knox for a 25 yard TD pass for the Bills.

Bill 7, Texans 0

1:59 left in the 1st qtr.