Air Traffic Control

They made quarterbacks Mark Sanchez and Jake Delhomme look bad the past two weeks. They held superstar passers Drew Brees and Tom Brady in relative check. The Buffalo Bills' pass defenders are having a good season. Their ability to keep it going against the Houston Texans will be a huge factor in today's game at Ralph Wilson Stadium, because it's going to be very hard for the Bills' offense to keep pace with the Texans' offense. Consider: *Houston ranks third in the NFL in passing. The Bills are 28th. *Texans receiver Andre Johnson leads the NFL in receiving yards with 634, almost 100 more than the combined total of Lee Evans and Terrell Owens. *Texans tight end Owen Daniels leads all NFL tight ends in receiving yards. He caught more passes the past two seasons than the Bills' top tight end has caught the past five seasons combined. *Texans quarterback Matt Schaub is on pace for 4,740 passing yards, which would be seventh most in NFL history. He's averaging 296 yards a game. The last time a Bills quarterback passed for 296 yards or more was the last time the Bills played the Texans -- three years ago. That's 45 straight Bills games without a 300-yard passer. So the pressure is on the Bills' pass defense to carry a heavy load today. "I compare this offense to the real good Denver Bronco offenses with Mike Shanahan," said Bills defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. "That run game can get going and can be very effective. But they are up there at such a high level in the pass game right now, that they can do either." The Bills are 10th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game. Buffalo is tied for the league lead in interceptions with 13. But Buffalo is stepping up in competition from the past two weeks. The Bills got six pickoffs against the Jets and three against the Panthers. Schaub has 16 touchdown passes and just four interceptions. Schaub, 6-foot-5 and 234 pounds, is accurate, reads coverages well, makes good decisions and effectively looks off defenders. "I think he does a great job of reading the field, a great job with his eyes," said Bills coach Dick Jauron. "He's got a good arm, not a great arm. He's not real mobile." Five weeks ago, the Bills' defense held Saints quarterback Drew Brees to just 172 passing yards. However, the Saints wore the Bills down on the ground. They broke open a 10-7 game in the fourth quarter and won, 27-7. The Texans' passing game might be a little better than the Saints' out of regular (two-back, two-receiver) formations and tight formations. The Saints are better than the Texans in spread formations. The Saints also are running the ball better than the Texans, who stand only 30th in rushing. Johnson, at 6-3 and 228, will be a tough matchup for Bills cornerback Terrence McGee. "I played him before but I've never actually covered him," McGee said. "The other times we played them, Nate [Clements] was covering him. He's one of the best receivers in the league. Big, physical, can really run, got great hands." "He's open when he's open, and he's open when he's covered," said Bills safety Bryan Scott. Daniels might be just as much of a problem for the Bills , who will be without starting safety Donte Whitner. George Wilson takes Whitner's spot, with Scott questionable due to an ankle injury. Daniels was a fourth-round pick in 2006. He's not as tall or as fast as Bills rookie fourth-round pick Shawn Nelson. (Daniels ran 4.67 seconds in the 40; Nelson ran 4.52.) But Daniels is a nimble athlete with good hands, and he catches the ball in a wide radius around his body. "He might be a little faster than a linebacker and a little bigger than a lot of safeties," Scott said. "The only guy I saw who matched up really well with him was Adrian Wilson in Arizona." The Texans use a lot of motion to get Daniels in favorable matchups. It will be interesting to watch how the Bills try to cover Daniels when the Texans are in regular formations. If the Bills want to play two deep safeties and double-cover Johnson, then Daniels would get matched up on a linebacker. If the Bills want Wilson locked up on Daniels, then Johnson could see more single coverage. The Texans also run a good screen pass game with running back Steve Slaton or Daniels. "They set that up very well," Scott said. "We're going to have to do a good job, if we're in man coverage, of staying with our man. Sometimes you might slough off and 'look for work.' No. You have to stay with your man, because they will sneak a back or tight end out for a screen." The 5-9 Slaton is the Texans' version of Reggie Bush. He's a better runner than Bush but not as prolific a receiver. Slaton led the AFC in yards from scrimmage last year with 1,659 yards. So far this year he's 30 yards a game off his rushing average of last season. e-mail: mgaughan@buffnews.com