Despite being beset by injury throughout the year, the Texans won the AFC South for the fourth time in five seasons and will be looking to progress past the wild-card round for only the second time in Bill O’Brien’s tenure.

Houston fell at the first hurdle against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2015 and against the Indianapolis Colts last season, but there are valid reasons for optimism this year.

The Texans begin the postseason as one of the dark horses in a loaded AFC, but have already proven this year they have what it takes to knock off some of their Super Bowl rivals.

Houston finished the regular season with a 10-6 record—only the fourth time in franchise history it has won at least 10 games—beating Kansas City and the New England Patriots, whom it may come across again this month, as this graphic provided by Statista shows.

The Bills, who last got past the wild-card round in 1995, also went 10-6, winning double-digit games in the regular season for the first time since 1999 and making their return to the playoffs after a one-season hiatus.

Buffalo’s success this season has been built on a rock-solid defense, that has given up a mere 16.2 points and 298.5 yards per game—second-best in the league in both categories behind the Patriots.

Houston, meanwhile, ranks fifth-worst in the NFL in total defense with an average of 388.3 yards allowed per game, but its offense has fared better than the Bills, producing 23.6 points per game to 19.6

Deshaun Watson deserves a large slice of the credit for the Texans’ offensive proficiency as he has again been pivotal to Houston’s hopes. The former Clemson alumni has thrown for 3,852 yards, 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions this season, rushing for 413 yards and seven scores.

“I think he [Watson] is playing at a very high level,” Bills coach Sean McDermott told reporters earlier this week.. “He’s accurate, he gets them in and out of plays at the line of scrimmage, he does a lot just in terms of generating plays.”

This year Texans have done a much better job of protecting Watson, who became the only quarterback along Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young to have 25-or-more touchdown passes and five-plus rushing touchdowns in multiple seasons.

The 24-year-old was sacked 62 times and lost a league-high 384 yards last season, but Houston has cut the number of sacks on its quarterback by 30 percent this season.

Watson’s seven rushing touchdowns this season are the second-best by any quarterback in the league behind Josh Allen’s nine. In his second-year in the NFL, the Bills’ signal caller has thrown for 3,089 yards and 20 touchdowns, adding 510 yards rushing.

O’Brien is well aware of the danger posed by the second-year quarterback.

“This guy is a dangerous player,” O’Brien told reporters on Tuesday via team transcript. “He does a lot of things well. He’s a great competitor, never thinks the play’s over. […] He can escape, he can run, they have designed runs for him, and then obviously he scrambles, so he has the ability to scramble. It’s a big challenge for us.”

Allen and Robinson have found their perfect foil in John Brown and DeAndre Hopkins, who have recorded 1,060 and 1,165 receiving yards this year respectively.

On the injury front, Texans defensive end J.J. Watt will play on Saturday after missing eight games with a torn pectoral muscle, while wide receiver Will Fuller V should also be available.

Bills cornerback Levi Wallace is also expected to feature after returning to practice on Wednesday.

Here’s all you need to know ahead of Saturday.

When and where is the game?

The Houston Texans host the Buffalo Bills at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Saturday, January 4.

Kick-off is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. ET.

TV coverage

The game will be broadcast nationally by ABC and ESPN.

Live stream

A live stream will be available via ESPN’s digital platforms, WatchESPN and the ESPN app.

Form

Both teams arrive into the wild-card round on the back of a loss. The Texans lost 35-14 at home against Tennessee, while the Bills fell 13-6 at home against the New York Jets.

Series record

Houston leads the all-time series 5-4 and has won 4 of the last 5 meetings against the Bills, prevailing 20-13 in the most recent meeting in October 2018.

Odds

According to BetOnline, the Texans are 2.5-point favorite and are 21/25 to cover the spread, while the Bills are 5/4 underdogs.

The over/under line in terms of total points scored is set at 43.5.