Here’s what to watch for:

Oct. 14, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive end (94) Mario Williams on the sidelines against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Bills defeated the Cardinals 19-16 in overtime. Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Mario Williams vs. Duane Brown

Houston’s 2006 #1 overall pick, defensive end Mario Williams, will play his first game at Reliant Stadium for an opposing team. Williams signed to a 9-figure contract this offseason with Buffalo, the most expensive signing in Buffalo history. Super Mario, not to my surprise, has been pushed around all season, but he should be motivated this game. Duane Brown has given the AP every reason to upgrade last season’s second-team All-Pro selection to a first-team pick. This will be the most high-profile facet of Sunday’s game.

Arian Foster vs. Buffalo’s Run Defense

The Buffalo Bills are dead last in some very important categories. They are allowing 6.0 yards per carry and have given up 13 rushing touchdowns, the worst marks in the NFL by a big margin. Their 32.4 points allowed per game is also a league worst. That doesn’t bode well for Buffalo with Arian Foster, arguably the league’s best ground weapon, facing off against the Bills this week. Gary Kubiak has come out with mind-boggling offensive gameplans before, but he has no reason to stray from the run this week.

Wade Phillips vs. Chan Gailey

Wade Phillips, the last Bills head coach to take the Bills to the playoffs, will butt heads with Chan Gailey’s creative offensive mind. The Bills have allowed the third-least sacks in the league and recorded the second-best yards per carry in the NFL. On paper, Houston’s defense doesn’t match up well against Buffalo, but only a fool would bet against J.J. Watt and the gang.

Prediction

Don’t expect a lot of stops in this game. The clock will continue to run all day, as the teams pound the rock successfully over and over. The solid Texan run defense will be the difference against the league-worst Bills run stuffing unit.

HOU 34, BUF 20

Whitney Mercilus (59) pressuring Carolina quarterback Jimmy Clausen (7) Photo provided by Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE

The Houston Texans entered the 2012 preseason similarly to the previous postseason: Without former All-Pro DE/OLB Mario Williams. However, eight months makes quite a difference, considering Houston spent their first round draft pick on Illinois DE/OLB Whitney Mercilus. While some treated Mercilus with trepidation prior to April’s draft branding him a “one-year wonder,” Texans Defensive Coordinator, Wade Phillips, saw Mercilus as a steal at the 26th overall pick and had even considered trading up for the NCAA sack leader.

At 6-4 260 pounds, Mercilus is more similar in size to Shawne Merriman (6-4 261 pounds) and Demarcus Ware (6-4 254 pounds), two former All-Pro’s and NFL sack leaders in Phillips’s system in San Diego and Dallas respectively, than Mario Williams (6-6 290 pounds) who did not have the prototypical size for the 3-4 defense. Williams entered the 2011 season as an oversized outside linebacker and while he showed some flashes with five sacks in as many games, he tore his pectoral muscle against the Raiders and missed the remainder of the season.

Williams injury history, lofty price tag in a year that the Texans needed to re-sign Arian Foster long term, along with the emergence of both Connor Barwin and Brooks Reed led the Texans to not offer a contract similar to Buffalo’s six-year $100 million offer, thus ushering in a new era of Texans football.

Mercilus has big shoes to fill in Houston and while he turned down the opportunity to sport number 90, he will undoubtedly be compared to his predecessor. One game into the preseason the former Illinois standout is comparing favorably to just about every pass rusher in the NFL as he registered 1.5 sacks against the Carolina Panthers on Saturday night. Most coaches would be happy with that stat line from anyone, let alone a rookie in his first game, but Head Coach Gary Kubiak went on to say “After watching the film, he was even better than I thought he was,” leading many in Texan Nation to wonder, just how good can this kid become?

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