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FOXBOROUGH, MA – JANUARY 05: Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen 17 after a game between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills on January 5, 2025, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA JAN 05 Bills at Patriots EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon482250105243
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FOXBOROUGH, MA – JANUARY 05: Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen 17 after a game between the New England Patriots and the Buffalo Bills on January 5, 2025, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire NFL, American Football Herren, USA JAN 05 Bills at Patriots EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon482250105243
As the Buffalo Bills fight to maintain their footing among the AFC elite, their offense is about to be tested in a way they didn’t expect. The final injury report before this Week 12 matchup against the Houston Texans revealed something that makes Buffalo’s job tougher. As it turns out, Bills quarterback Josh Allen will have to line up without three important pass-catchers.
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Tight end Dalton Kincaid and wide receivers Mecole Hardman and Curtis Samuel are all out with injuries. This strips depth from Buffalo’s offense at a time when consistency matters most.
Among the three players, Kincaid’s absence hurts the most. He will sit out with a hamstring injury after missing practice. In the season, he has recorded 448 receiving yards and four touchdowns, while quickly becoming one of Josh Allen’s top targets.
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BALTIMORE, MD – SEPTEMBER 29: Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen 17 looks up at the scoreboard during an NFL, American Football Herren, USA game between the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens on September 29, 2024, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, MD. Photo by Charles Brock/Icon Sportswire NFL: SEP 29 Bills at Ravens EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon240929010
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However, Kincaid suffered an injury in the third quarter of the game against the Miami Dolphins, and since then, he has never returned. The team labeled him week-to-week, ruling him out in the Week 11 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now, in Week 12, Dawson Knox will be expected to move into a bigger role at tight end along with Jackson Hawes.
Meanwhile, Curtis Samuel is out again with an elbow issue. The WR has struggled to stay available all season. Additionally, Mecole Hardman, who is also sidelined with a calf injury, made his Buffalo debut only last week. His first touch was a 61-yard kickoff return. But later, he lost a fumble on a punt return and then suffered the injury.
With these veteran wide receivers out, Josh Allen may turn back to Keon Coleman after the Bills benched him last Sunday, although the WR hasn’t contributed much this season. So, that leaves players like Khalil Shakir, Joshua Palmer, and Tyrell Shavers in line for heavier workloads. Can they handle it against one of the league’s toughest defenses?
Josh Allen needs his WRs to step up, as he really has no choice. The Bills’ offensive rhythm has faltered recently; while their season average of 29.2 points is strong, it has dipped to 28.3 over the last three games, a subtle but concerning trend.
The real issue lies in the ground game, which has plummeted from a dominant 147.6 yards per game to just 108.3, putting more pressure on a depleted receiving corps. Josh Allen has already hinted at struggles within the WR group.
Meanwhile, Houston has injury problems, too. But unlike Buffalo, the Texans have shown surprising stability without some of their biggest names like C.J. Stroud.
C.J. Stroud ruled out before the Week 12 game in Houston
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud remains out with the concussion that he suffered in Week 9 against the Denver Broncos. He did not practice on November 17. But he returned to the field the next day as he progressed through concussion protocol. Still, he was ruled out in the final injury report before the matchup against the Bills on November 20.
Houston probably expects C.J. Stroud to return in Week 13 against the Indianapolis Colts. Until then, Davis Mills remains the starter. This will be Mills’ third start of the season. The backup QB has already gone 2-0 against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans. So far this season, he has completed 60% of his passes for 726 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception.
So, Mills has done enough to keep the Texans stable without C.J. Stroud. But can he do more than that now? Last week, the Texans barely escaped a 1–9 Titans team, winning 16–13. Now Mills faces Josh Allen’s Bills, who have allowed 30-plus points in two straight games. Does that open a window for Houston?
Mills will want to extend the win streak and help the Texans climb above .500. However, with both teams fighting for playoff relevance, the pressure on every snap will be magnified.
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Bhwya Sriya