Bills' Season-Opening 'Chess Match' Ranks as Best NFL Game to Watch on Sunday

It's as intriguing as a NFL Week 1 matchup can be, especially from a Buffalo Bills' perspective.

It's former offensive coordinator Joe Brady's first game as a head coach, and it happens to be against a Houston Texans' team that has baffled Bills' quarterback Josh Allen each of the past two seasons.

"I can only speak offensively, but we obviously weren't good enough [last November]," said Brady. "Allowed our quarterback to get hit and get touched, and anytime Josh is having to get up off the ground, that's never a good thing. Obviously, it's going to be a huge test for us this week and I know our guys are excited for it."

Nov 20, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans linebacker Henry To'oTo'o (39) sacks Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) in the second half at NRG Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

In the 23-19 loss to Houston in 2025, Allen was under constant duress as the Texans' vaunted defense sacked him eight times.

With the five-time NFL MVP finalist going up against the league's top-ranked defense from one year ago, it's no wonder that Sports Illustrated has ranked the Bills' season opener as the "best" game scheduled for Sunday, September 13.

Bills vs. Texans tops entire Sunday slate

Sports Illustrated ranked all 16 NFL Week 1 matchups from worst to best, and only three games finished higher than the Bills' 1 p.m. ET kickoff on CBS. All three were standalone non-Sunday primetime games.

"Voted by folks around the league to be the best quarterback in the NFL at the end of 2026, Josh Allen and the Bills are headed to Houston this Sunday to take on the Texans—who just so happen to boast one of the league’s top defenses. That chess match aside, this one also features head coach Joe Brady’s debut as Buffalo’s head coach and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud looking to bounce back after an abysmal performance in last season’s playoff loss to the Patriots," said author Mike Kadlick after placing the game at No. 4 overall in the Week 1 hierarchy.

Two debuts that add intrigue for Bills' fans

It's more than Brady's head coaching debut.

It's also the first game for Jim Leonhard as Bills' defensive coordinator. Switching to a 3-4 base formation, Leonhard's defense is expected to have a bigger bite than the Sean McDermott units of yesteryear.

"It's the play speed and the confidence. That's, to me, how I judge good defense," said Leonhard on Thursday in Orchard Park. "If guys are playing fast, if they're playing confident, if we're able to communicate pre-snap within the calls, we're gonna give ourselves a really good chance to have success."

On offense, the NFL will get its first look at wide receiver DJ Moore teaming up with Allen. We've written extensively about the rapport that's been building between the QB and his new WR1.

"Adding DJ Moore is a big get for the Bills," said Texans' head coach Demeco Ryans. "He gives them that true number one receiver that I think they've been missing for a while. It can stretch the defense vertically."

I'm predicting that Moore erupts this season, and it starts on Sunday in what looks to be the crown jewel of the day's viewing schedule.

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