September 11, 2026 • 8 mins
Locked On Bills’ Christian Rauh joined The Dan Mathews Show to share what he’s hearing ahead of the Bills’ season-opening matchup against the Texans. He shared his thoughts on how Buffalo will look to get the running game going with James Cook, how the addition of DJ Moore could impact the matchup, what to expect with Joe Brady now calling the shots as head coach, and much more!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Coming up on Sunday over reliant stadium and a man
who's going to talk the bills side of things, Christian
Rao from locked on bills hit. He joins us now, Christian,
great to finally catch up with you, man. Love your
work over there. Just in terms of this season for
the bills and new head coach, because clearly they felt
like that with McDermott, they had kind of maxed out.
(00:22):
So what are the expectations with Joe Brady and what
are at least the hopes that they can accomplish this year?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah. First of all, thanks for having me on. But
when you look at this, this bill squad this year,
it's completely different to when you compare it to another
first year head coach heading into the NFL or taking
over one of these teams, because, you know, you're, you're
still taking over a team that had Superbowl expectations. You
still have Josh Allen who just won the MVP a
couple of years ago. So it's definitely a completely unique experience.
(00:54):
Joe Brady was on the staff for the last few
years with Josh Allen in this offense, not just taking
over the rounds, but getting the opportunity to get his
own field, to the coaching staff and adding some senior
analysts to the bit as well. So it's definitely unique.
I don't think the expectations have changed. And I think
it's still a super bowl contender or bust season for
(01:15):
the Buffalo bills.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Speaker 0 7th, and in terms of Josh Allen, I mean,
it's always one of those that I always love to
get people on the local sides, thoughts on a quarterback
because Like I'll give you where I'm going with this
in Atlanta. It was, you either were a Matt Ryan
guy or you weren't. And here it seems like it's
the same deal with CJ Stroud. Is it pretty unanimous
(01:36):
up in Buffalo that everybody's ride or die with Josh Allen?
Or does he even have his detractors up there?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yeah, it's pretty ride or die now. I mean, at
the beginning of it, there were a vast amount of
people who rather have Josh Rosen be trashed rather than
Josh Allen. I don't think people believed in the pick
at the very beginning. I think just because Buffalo was
let down so many times over that playoff drought and
over that 20 years of just having bad quarterback play
all the way leading back to the Jim Kelly Super
(02:04):
Bowl years. But now it's pretty ride or die about
Josh Allen, what he's done to this community, what he's
done for this team. And I think a lot of people,
if not everybody, the future of this team.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
And I mean is is there so much pressure on
this season like say that it ends with them getting
knocked out in the divisional round I mean do you
think that maybe starts to fire up with them of
hey man it's all great you got the pretty wife
you got all that kind of stuff but you need
to actually start winning huge games for us.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
I can see it starting to become the narrative. Look,
we're entering his age 30 season. This is around the
same time that Peyton Manning also started getting to his
Super Bowl moments, and they kind of do share the
same trajectory of couldn't get to the final game, couldn't
win the big one in the postseason. If you remember
how they treated Peyton Manning back in the day, they
talked about how he was a choke artist in the
(02:55):
playoffs and couldn't get the clutch factor there. I could
see that happening with Josh Allen, but I could also
see the new coach changing narratives start to take place there.
I think it all depends on how you lose that
playoff game. When you lose that playoff game, if you
don't make it to the post season, then that definitely
would be an issue.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Christian Rao again, locked on bills hit joining us here,
talking the bills side of Sunday's matchup over at reliant
stadium between them and the Texans. As we continue the
conversation here on the Dan Matthews show, what is a
position group that you look at with this bills team
that gives you the most confidence?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
That's a good question. I think this year, I think
the offensive line has certainly added its continuity. They've got paid.
They have certainly stepped up in a big way, but
I think it'll definitely be tested this week because last
year that was a big issue for this game between
the Bills and the Texans with Josh Allen getting a
career high of eight sacks, obviously Houston winning that football game.
(03:52):
I have a lot of confidence in this offensive line
this year. I think they certainly... have what it takes
to protect Josh Allen. And I think they've put a
lot of capital into making sure that can happen. So
if I had to go one, I think my, my
confidence is in the offensive line.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
And how do you see this defense approaching CJ Stroud
and this Texans offense?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yeah, it's going to be super interesting, right? Even I'm
not really quite sure of what Jim Leonard's about to possess,
the new defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills. He's been
very clear that in preseason, he's keeping a lot of
things close to his chest. He believes in the element
of surprise because nobody has tape on his defense right now.
He was a defensive coordinator at Wisconsin. He helped out
a little bit with the Broncos, but nothing truly surprising.
(04:32):
his scheme just from what we've seen and what we
know from Jim Leonard. It looks like there will be
some multiple fronts. We'll probably see some multiple disguise coverages
and he's not afraid to set pressure or move players
around to force double teams in different directions and make
younger players and quarterbacks communicate and make decisions. You know,
obviously you think about your left side of your line.
(04:53):
It's a little bit less inexperienced than your right side.
I think that they might try to attack that. But
I could see a lot of pressure in disguise from
Jim Leonard immediately. A couple more minutes. Again, Christian Rao
locked on. Bills hit.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Joining us here on the Dan Matthews Show, Sports Talk 790.
The numbers with the receiver position, have those gotten better? Because,
I mean, Christian, it seemed like last year that was
the massive real difference for the Bills is that it
looked like that they just completely ran out of guys
at that spot.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, they added DJ Moore in a trade this offseason,
which I think is a big deal. I think a
lot of people, including myself, believe that Josh Allen finally
has that wide receiver one again. DJ Moore obviously has
had some big production over his years with Carolina and Chicago.
He was kind of starting to get buried on that
Chicago depth chart. So I think he has an opportunity
(05:42):
to step up now. Khalil Shakur, we'll see how much
he actually plays in the game on Sunday. Just started
to practice this week after being banged up in the preseason.
And then we still have questions regarding Ken Coleman, if
he can step up the way that everybody's expecting him to,
but the depth portions, you know, looking at the depth
of the Buffalo bills wide receiver room, Joshua Palmer was
(06:04):
injured during that game last year. We didn't get to
see him. He's healthy. He's ready to go. And then
they drafted out of Yukon wide receiver Skylar bell. So
I think they do have more depth at the position.
It just depends on how to utilize them.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
And I mean, it's interesting that you bring up Keon Coleman,
because I think a lot of people expected more than
we've seen out of him at this level. But I mean,
is that almost kind of a pet project for Joe
Brady of, I mean, we saw what he was able
to do at LSU with some really good receivers, but
I mean, is, is Keon Coleman kind of in that
same mold of, you know, Hey, you know, don't forget
we got Terrace Marshall over here, like kind of that
(06:38):
guy that can really be a surprise.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I think it's a make or break season for Keon Coleman.
I think they've made that pretty clear this year. Now,
there was definitely some words when Sean McDermott was fired
and our owner, Terry Pagliulo, was pretty clear that they
weren't very happy with that draft decision. But Joe Brady
has made it very clear that Keon Coleman is in
the best spot because he's the head coach of this
(07:02):
football team. So I think he truly believes in his game.
He was named wide receiver three on the first unofficial
depth chart. And I think that goes a long way
to how his confidence is sitting. I think that there's
going to be a lot of things looking at Keon
Coleman this year when it comes to a make or
break season. He's even aware of that. His production obviously
hasn't been the way it should be in his two years.
He's done with the bills. He has yet to surpass
(07:24):
a thousand yards total in receiving. So a lot of
things riding on him this year.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Christian, I'm going to get you out the door on
this one. Between Dalton Kincaid and James Cook, who's got
to have the bigger game in order for the Bills
to be able to pull this off?
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Without question, it's James Cook. Obviously, leading the NFL in
rushing last year, you've got to find a way to
establish the run to kind of put your Houston defense
just a little bit on their toes, maybe even slow
them down, maybe even gas them a little bit, because
if you get Will Anderson and Daniel Hunter being able
to chase Josh Allen every single play like they did
last year, it can be a really bad day for Buffalo.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Again, he's Christian Rau. You can find him on Twitter
at Christian S. Rau, R-A-U-H is how you spell that
last name. And he is aces when it comes to
not only the Bills, but just his football knowledge as
a whole. And again, you can find his work as
well at LockedOnBillsHit. Hey, Christian, man, like I said, big
fan of your work. It's great to finally catch up
with you. And just like us here in Houston, I
(08:21):
know y'all are looking forward to a hell of a
game on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Absolutely. Can't wait for it. So happy football's back. Thanks
for having me on. There you go.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
True rewards. Never spoken again. Christian Rao up there covering
the bills.
Coming up on Sunday over reliant stadium and a man
who's going to talk the bills side of things, Christian
Rao from locked on bills hit. He joins us now, Christian,
great to finally catch up with you, man. Love your
work over there. Just in terms of this season for
the bills and new head coach, because clearly they felt
like that with McDermott, they had kind of maxed out.
(00:22):
So what are the expectations with Joe Brady and what
are at least the hopes that they can accomplish this year?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah. First of all, thanks for having me on. But
when you look at this, this bill squad this year,
it's completely different to when you compare it to another
first year head coach heading into the NFL or taking
over one of these teams, because, you know, you're, you're
still taking over a team that had Superbowl expectations. You
still have Josh Allen who just won the MVP a
couple of years ago. So it's definitely a completely unique experience.
(00:54):
Joe Brady was on the staff for the last few
years with Josh Allen in this offense, not just taking
over the rounds, but getting the opportunity to get his
own field, to the coaching staff and adding some senior
analysts to the bit as well. So it's definitely unique.
I don't think the expectations have changed. And I think
it's still a super bowl contender or bust season for
(01:15):
the Buffalo bills.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Speaker 0 7th, and in terms of Josh Allen, I mean,
it's always one of those that I always love to
get people on the local sides, thoughts on a quarterback
because Like I'll give you where I'm going with this
in Atlanta. It was, you either were a Matt Ryan
guy or you weren't. And here it seems like it's
the same deal with CJ Stroud. Is it pretty unanimous
(01:36):
up in Buffalo that everybody's ride or die with Josh Allen?
Or does he even have his detractors up there?
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yeah, it's pretty ride or die now. I mean, at
the beginning of it, there were a vast amount of
people who rather have Josh Rosen be trashed rather than
Josh Allen. I don't think people believed in the pick
at the very beginning. I think just because Buffalo was
let down so many times over that playoff drought and
over that 20 years of just having bad quarterback play
all the way leading back to the Jim Kelly Super
(02:04):
Bowl years. But now it's pretty ride or die about
Josh Allen, what he's done to this community, what he's
done for this team. And I think a lot of people,
if not everybody, the future of this team.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
And I mean is is there so much pressure on
this season like say that it ends with them getting
knocked out in the divisional round I mean do you
think that maybe starts to fire up with them of
hey man it's all great you got the pretty wife
you got all that kind of stuff but you need
to actually start winning huge games for us.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
I can see it starting to become the narrative. Look,
we're entering his age 30 season. This is around the
same time that Peyton Manning also started getting to his
Super Bowl moments, and they kind of do share the
same trajectory of couldn't get to the final game, couldn't
win the big one in the postseason. If you remember
how they treated Peyton Manning back in the day, they
talked about how he was a choke artist in the
(02:55):
playoffs and couldn't get the clutch factor there. I could
see that happening with Josh Allen, but I could also
see the new coach changing narratives start to take place there.
I think it all depends on how you lose that
playoff game. When you lose that playoff game, if you
don't make it to the post season, then that definitely
would be an issue.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Christian Rao again, locked on bills hit joining us here,
talking the bills side of Sunday's matchup over at reliant
stadium between them and the Texans. As we continue the
conversation here on the Dan Matthews show, what is a
position group that you look at with this bills team
that gives you the most confidence?
Speaker 2 (03:31):
That's a good question. I think this year, I think
the offensive line has certainly added its continuity. They've got paid.
They have certainly stepped up in a big way, but
I think it'll definitely be tested this week because last
year that was a big issue for this game between
the Bills and the Texans with Josh Allen getting a
career high of eight sacks, obviously Houston winning that football game.
(03:52):
I have a lot of confidence in this offensive line
this year. I think they certainly... have what it takes
to protect Josh Allen. And I think they've put a
lot of capital into making sure that can happen. So
if I had to go one, I think my, my
confidence is in the offensive line.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
And how do you see this defense approaching CJ Stroud
and this Texans offense?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Yeah, it's going to be super interesting, right? Even I'm
not really quite sure of what Jim Leonard's about to possess,
the new defensive coordinator for the Buffalo Bills. He's been
very clear that in preseason, he's keeping a lot of
things close to his chest. He believes in the element
of surprise because nobody has tape on his defense right now.
He was a defensive coordinator at Wisconsin. He helped out
a little bit with the Broncos, but nothing truly surprising.
(04:32):
his scheme just from what we've seen and what we
know from Jim Leonard. It looks like there will be
some multiple fronts. We'll probably see some multiple disguise coverages
and he's not afraid to set pressure or move players
around to force double teams in different directions and make
younger players and quarterbacks communicate and make decisions. You know,
obviously you think about your left side of your line.
(04:53):
It's a little bit less inexperienced than your right side.
I think that they might try to attack that. But
I could see a lot of pressure in disguise from
Jim Leonard immediately. A couple more minutes. Again, Christian Rao
locked on. Bills hit.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
Joining us here on the Dan Matthews Show, Sports Talk 790.
The numbers with the receiver position, have those gotten better? Because,
I mean, Christian, it seemed like last year that was
the massive real difference for the Bills is that it
looked like that they just completely ran out of guys
at that spot.
Speaker 2 (05:21):
Yeah, they added DJ Moore in a trade this offseason,
which I think is a big deal. I think a
lot of people, including myself, believe that Josh Allen finally
has that wide receiver one again. DJ Moore obviously has
had some big production over his years with Carolina and Chicago.
He was kind of starting to get buried on that
Chicago depth chart. So I think he has an opportunity
(05:42):
to step up now. Khalil Shakur, we'll see how much
he actually plays in the game on Sunday. Just started
to practice this week after being banged up in the preseason.
And then we still have questions regarding Ken Coleman, if
he can step up the way that everybody's expecting him to,
but the depth portions, you know, looking at the depth
of the Buffalo bills wide receiver room, Joshua Palmer was
(06:04):
injured during that game last year. We didn't get to
see him. He's healthy. He's ready to go. And then
they drafted out of Yukon wide receiver Skylar bell. So
I think they do have more depth at the position.
It just depends on how to utilize them.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
And I mean, it's interesting that you bring up Keon Coleman,
because I think a lot of people expected more than
we've seen out of him at this level. But I mean,
is that almost kind of a pet project for Joe
Brady of, I mean, we saw what he was able
to do at LSU with some really good receivers, but
I mean, is, is Keon Coleman kind of in that
same mold of, you know, Hey, you know, don't forget
we got Terrace Marshall over here, like kind of that
(06:38):
guy that can really be a surprise.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I think it's a make or break season for Keon Coleman.
I think they've made that pretty clear this year. Now,
there was definitely some words when Sean McDermott was fired
and our owner, Terry Pagliulo, was pretty clear that they
weren't very happy with that draft decision. But Joe Brady
has made it very clear that Keon Coleman is in
the best spot because he's the head coach of this
(07:02):
football team. So I think he truly believes in his game.
He was named wide receiver three on the first unofficial
depth chart. And I think that goes a long way
to how his confidence is sitting. I think that there's
going to be a lot of things looking at Keon
Coleman this year when it comes to a make or
break season. He's even aware of that. His production obviously
hasn't been the way it should be in his two years.
He's done with the bills. He has yet to surpass
(07:24):
a thousand yards total in receiving. So a lot of
things riding on him this year.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Christian, I'm going to get you out the door on
this one. Between Dalton Kincaid and James Cook, who's got
to have the bigger game in order for the Bills
to be able to pull this off?
Speaker 2 (07:38):
Without question, it's James Cook. Obviously, leading the NFL in
rushing last year, you've got to find a way to
establish the run to kind of put your Houston defense
just a little bit on their toes, maybe even slow
them down, maybe even gas them a little bit, because
if you get Will Anderson and Daniel Hunter being able
to chase Josh Allen every single play like they did
last year, it can be a really bad day for Buffalo.
Speaker 1 (07:59):
Again, he's Christian Rau. You can find him on Twitter
at Christian S. Rau, R-A-U-H is how you spell that
last name. And he is aces when it comes to
not only the Bills, but just his football knowledge as
a whole. And again, you can find his work as
well at LockedOnBillsHit. Hey, Christian, man, like I said, big
fan of your work. It's great to finally catch up
with you. And just like us here in Houston, I
(08:21):
know y'all are looking forward to a hell of a
game on Sunday.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Absolutely. Can't wait for it. So happy football's back. Thanks
for having me on. There you go.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
True rewards. Never spoken again. Christian Rao up there covering
the bills.
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