This week, the Bills will take on an enigma of a team. The Houston Texans wins games they're not supposed to and lose games that they aren't supposed to as well. They finally got over the hump and now have a winning record, but they certainly aren't a perfect storm. How do the Texans and Bills matchup? Let's take an in-depth look at the competitors.

Offense

The Houston Texans undoubtedly have an explosive offense when they're throwing the football. They average a whopping 285.6 yards per game passing, good enough for third best in the NFL. They also convert on their chances, scoring an average of 23.9 points per game (13th). But for all the good, the running game has been downright ugly. The Texans rank near the bottom of the league, averaging just 79.1 yards per game (30th). Something has to give when they face Buffalo, because the Bills are dead last against the run, allowing 172.4 yards per game on the ground. Their nearly one-sided offensive attack is best exhibited by their pass to run play calling numbers. Houston has called 249 pass plays to just 184 plays on the ground.

Quarterback: The reason that this offense has taken the next step, or so it seems, has to be because of the play and full health of signal caller Matt Schaub. Since being traded to Houston, Schaub is enjoying his most productive season of his career. He's completing 65.5 percent of his passes for a total of 2,074 yards, 16 touchdowns and just five interceptions. All those numbers are good enough to get Schaub a rating of 104.4 on the year. He's done all this despite a sub-par rushing attack.

Running Back: Steve Slaton came on strong during his rookie season, running for 1,282 yards and nine touchdowns, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. It's not the case as much this time around, with the term "Sophomore Slump" coming to mind. Slaton has just 341 yards through seven games, averaging just 3.1 yards per rush and has two touchdowns. However, Slaton is still very effective in the passing game. He has 27 catches for 304 yards and three touchdowns for the Texans, providing a nice safety net for Schaub.

Wide Receiver / Tight End: When the Texans made Andre Johnson their top choice and third overall pick in 2003, they had no idea they'd be drafting their franchise's best player in history. Johnson has risen to stardom in relative anonymity while playing in Houston, and it's no different in 2009. Johnson has 38 catches for 634 yards and four touchdowns so far through the season. He's listed as probable to play on Sunday after suffering an injury just a week ago. But believe it or not,  Johnson doesn't lead the team in all receiving categories. Those honors belong to tight end Owen Daniels, who leads Houston with 39 receptions and five touchdowns, with 497 yards as well. The Texans also have another receiving threat, and that's speedster Jacoby Jones. The return specialist also occasionally gets involved in the offense, and has three receiving touchdowns as a result.

Offensive Line: For as good as the passing game has been, the Houston offensive line has struggled making room for Steve Slaton and company to run. But besides that, this unit has been strong in protecting Schaub. They've allowed just 12 sacks, but they'll have their hands full against a revitalized defensive line of the Bills. Buffalo has 16 sacks this season.

Defense

The Houston defense has been partially to blame for their 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' type start. The offense has had to compensate at times for the Texans shortcomings on defense. They rank in the bottom half of the league in most of the defensive categories. They're 18th against the pass (228.4 YPC), 21st against the run (115.6 YPC) and allow the 20th most points per game, letting up 22.6 per contest. The one disappointing statistic is that Houston has just nine sacks this season, just a year after having 25 in 2008. But the Texans help compensate for those numbers by forcing some turnovers, sitting at plus-3 thus far in takeaways and giveaways.

Defensive Line: Houston got a great output from Mario Williams last season, and hoped to beef up their defensive line with the free agent pickup of former Arizona Cardinal defensive end Antonio Smith on the other side of Williams. Well it's safe to say through seven games, that they have not gotten their money's worth. Smith has just 13 tackles and a forced fumble, with no sacks on the opposing quarterback. Williams isn't on pace to match his last season total of 14 sacks. But he's been a consistent presence accounting for 24 tackles, three sacks and a forced fumble. Yet again Bills left tackle Demetrius Bell will have his hands full against one of the premiere pass rushers in football. Young defensive tackle Amobi Okoye has been coming in to his own the past few weeks. The former first rounder has 19 tackles and 1.5 sacks on the year.

Linebackers: This group has been led by middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans. The former Alabama product has 51 tackles and forced fumble this year. But it's been the play of rookie and first round linebacker Brian Cushing. Cushing has a big play mentality, registering 56 tackles, half a sack, two forced fumbles and an interception in 2009. The group is rounded out by starter Zac Diles.

Defensive Backs: Houston has one of the better cover cornerbacks in the league in Dunta Robinson. The former first round pick has 13 interceptions in his career, but Robinson has been shut out so far this year. Robinson however does have 38 tackles and a forced fumble this year. Jacque Reeves is the other starting corner, and is someone that can be picked on by a competent quarterback. He'll likely be covering Lee Evans all afternoon. At the safety spots are Bernard Pollard and Eugene Wilson. Wilson leads the team with two interceptions on the season, but he's listed as questionable for Sunday. If he can't go, John Busing will get the start in his stead.

Special Teams

Jacoby Jones is both the punt and kickoff returner. The speedster averages 10.4 yards per punt return with a long of 62 yards, and has a mean of 29.6 yards per kickoff return and punching one in to the end zone for a 95 yard return. Kris Brown is the team's kicker, and has converted on 66.7 percent (6-of-9) of his chances. Matt Turk handles the punting duties, averaging 41 yards per punt and trapping teams inside the 20-yard line 34.2 percent of the time.

Penalties

Buffalo turned in a solid performance last week from a penalties perspective, lowering their weekly average to 6.6 penalties for 50.1 yards. Houston is close in terms of penalty yardage per game, accounting for 47.4 yards on an average of 5.4 penalties per week.

History

Bills fans will remember the last time these two teams met very well. It was perhaps the best game of the J.P. Losman era, when he connected with Lee Evans for two 87-yard touchdown passes on the way to defeating Houston 24-21 in 2006. Buffalo leads the all-time series with a 3-1 record. The only Texans win came in 2003, when quarterback Tony Banks led Houston to a 12-10 win.

Injuries

Houston: QUESTIONABLE: TE James Casey, S Eugene Wilson, DE Tim Bulman. PROBABLE: LB Brian Cushing, S Nick Ferguson, WR Andre Johnson, CB Antwaun Molden, CB Dunta Robinson, LB DeMeco Ryans, G Chris White, DE Mario Williams

Buffalo: OUT: FB Corey McIntyre, TE Shawn Nelson, OT Jonathan Scott, S Donte Whitner, DT Kyle Williams, QB Trent Edwards. QUESTIONABLE: S Bryan Scott. PROBABLE: DE Chris Kelsay, CB Terrence McGee

Pivotal Matchups

Buffalo rush defense vs. HB Steve Slaton

OT Demetrius Bell vs. DE Mario Williams

WR Lee Evans vs. CB Jacques Reeves

Final Thoughts

Not many thought they'd see the Bills be winners of two straight on the road, with a chance to even up their record heading in to the bye week. But the Bills with their patented bend but don't break defense have kept their offense in the game and given themselves a chance to win.

This week against Houston, there are certainly some matchups the team can exploit, but the secondary must be careful. This Texans squad has all the capabilities to blow a game wide open through the air, especially if Andre Johnson gets involved often. If the Bills can pull this one out, the schedule moving forward is not jaw dropping by any means. A win on Sunday, and the Bills may just linger in the playoff discussion.

E-mail: JoeB@wgr550.com