When the Buffalo Bills begin their Week 1 matchup with the Houston Texans, there will be a lot of new.The most obvious is first-year head coach Joe Brady, the 36-year-old new leader of the Bills who will make his official regular-season debut on Sunday. There may be no bigger test all season for the Bills coach, who will double as offensive play-caller, than facing the Texans’ vaunted defense.What stands out most from the Bills’ upcoming matchup?Here’s our Week 1 Bills notebook.Jim Leonhard’s debutWhile the world is focused on the strength-on-strength matchup of Josh Allen and the Bills offense against the tormenting Texans defense, don’t be surprised if another matchup ultimately decides this game. The Bills and Texans entered the offseason with a clear task: Revamping their weaker side of the ball. The Texans brought in some new offensive linemen and a new running back, while the Bills changed their entire defensive scheme with first-year defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard.The Bills played a lot of their base defense in the preseason, so Leonhard hasn’t shown the full gamut of his playbook, and that could be critical heading into this weekend’s matchup. Leonhard is highly regarded around the league for his mind, and some of the defensive looks he used in open practices throughout the summer have made them much more unpredictable on that side of the ball.Players throughout the locker room are excited to debut the scheme as if they’ve been keeping it a secret all summer, and that shouldn’t be dismissed with a brand-new play caller. While the players on the field will ultimately decide this contest, Leonhard’s approach to attacking the opponent could be a huge edge for Buffalo against a Texans offense still trying to reach a new level.Dealing with the fantastic Texans edge rushers and the Bills’ new X-factorEven though Leonhard’s debut is compelling, the Bills will inevitably have to choose on Sunday. In last year’s matchup, the sacks and pressures they gave up to Houston were unsustainable. Though too often in that game, left tackle Dion Dawkins and right tackle Spencer Brown were left on an island against the best edge-rushing duo in the NFL, Houston’s Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. Some of those sacks and pressures were on Josh Allen, but without question, Allen needs more help this time around against this front.That’s where the Bills come into the contest with a choice, and what they do will be intriguing from a game-planning perspective. The idea of chipping both edge rushers is obvious, though what will be the most effective personnel grouping to do so?Because of the matchup, we could see a higher percentage of 12 and 13 personnel than in other weeks to get more two- and three-tight-end looks. That would certainly help the tackles get a second set of hands on those edge rushers. The Bills also have the option to have a receiver stay tight to the formation to chip as well in 11 personnel. The bigger the player chipping, the more effective it will be.The key to making it all go, however, is new Bills No. 1 receiver, DJ Moore. There is no bigger difference in the 2026 Bills offense from what it was the last two years against the Texans than him.The Texans were unfazed by who the Bills lined up outside at receiver and clogged up the entire intermediate and middle of the field. Now, with Moore on the field, the Bills have an immediate and proven receiver who can win deep — and that can change the entire structure of how the Texans choose to defend them this year.I wouldn’t be stunned if the Bills try to establish that part of their offense early to help everyone. Moore’s inclusion as one of two receivers in 12 personnel, or as the only receiver in 13 personnel, could make a massive difference and let the Bills use heavier sets to help their tackles far more often.Platoon or no platoon with Hairston and Igbinosun?As the matchup nears, one of the Bills’ defensive focal points is Texans star receiver Nico Collins. Once the promising second-year player Jayden Higgins suffered a season-ending torn ACL, the gap between Collins and the Texans’ next-best receiver grew significantly.Houston acquired Kayshon Boutte from New England in late August. When the game begins, he will have studied the Texans’ offense for just shy of three weeks. It puts that much more importance on slowing down Collins on Sunday, which is where the Bills’ No. 2 cornerback situation comes into the picture.The Bills have been evaluating their cornerback depth all summer. There is no debating top cornerback Christian Benford’s ability or his place in that role, but past him, two significant draft investments have their work cut out for them. The Bills’ 2025 first-round pick, Maxwell Hairston, has been named the starter by Brady, though his inconsistent performance this summer has allowed for some speculation about his hold on the job.The Bills used a second-round pick on rookie Davison Igbinosun, who has progressed steadily since the beginning of training camp. Most interestingly, general manager Brandon Beane didn’t rule out a potential platoon of Hairston and Igbinosun. Nor did Leonhard when asked about his preferred approach at boundary cornerback: one starter versus a platoon strategy.The specific strengths of Hairston and Igbinosun have to be considered, especially when it comes to defending Collins. Collins is a big, physical receiver who can win at every level of the field. In today’s NFL, teams are very good at getting their top receivers away from a top cornerback in a shadow role against him, so it’s inevitable that Hairston will see some of Collins.The concern is that Hairston’s biggest weakness, defending receivers with physicality, is a huge part of Collins’ game. Though when Collins tries to get over the top deep, Hairston has the speed to run with him. Igbinosun is the opposite: His top strength is physicality, but he could surrender something deep against quicker receivers and ones adept at making big plays like Collins.It’s really a catch-22 for the Bills, which makes you wonder if using a platoon to give Collins different looks throughout the game is the right approach, while also giving Hairston and Igbinosun chances to show they deserve a full-time job.Punt return: Why Greg Dortch makes way too much senseEven with a summer full of trying to figure it out, the Bills came through final cuts without a real, defined answer at punt returner. They tried Ray Davis there, but Davis’ muffed punt and turnover could have been a blessing in disguise ahead of the regular season. Mecole Hardman was somewhat of an option, but they ultimately cut him after an inconsistent camp. That leaves the Bills with plenty of questions at that spot.However, the closer we get to their Week 1 game, the more it makes sense for the Bills to go with the practice squad’s Greg Dortch as their primary punt returner on Sunday. Their top option outside of Dortch would be Dee Alford or Davis. Since Alford is critical to their defense and there may be little trust in Davis to do the job after his preseason blunder, it all comes back to Dortch.For one, he is their best and most explosive option. In a game against a fantastic defense that could limit the Bills’ scoring opportunities, having someone who could give them a drive-start advantage is a big asset.Second, it would give them a natural backup slot receiver to Khalil Shakir, as the Bills don’t have that elsewhere on their 53-man roster. Plus, Brady pointed out that Dortch’s onboarding hasn’t been as steep because the receiver has worked with receivers coach Drew Terrell in the past.Third, it would let the Bills bring along rookie Skyler Bell slowly as a healthy scratch, with an eye on increasing his role as the year goes on. Bell doesn’t have a special teams role right now, and to dress five receivers, one of them usually needs that functionality.Don’t be surprised if, when practice squad elevations come down on Saturday, Dortch is one of them.ILB is still undecided; what might it look like?After Leonhard met with the media on Thursday, one of his standout comments was that their second starting inside linebacker role will remain a competition heading into the regular season.The battle between veteran Dorian Williams and fourth-round rookie Kaleb Elarms-Orr has been too close to call. Elarms-Orr certainly appears to be a big part of their future at the position, so keeping him involved on defense, even to a slight degree, seems like a smart idea given what they’ve seen from him this summer.At the same time, Williams has played well enough to warrant playing time, perhaps even as the starting player when the Bills defense runs on the field for the first time on Sunday.This position will likely wait for clarity until the Bills have a bank of information from the regular season and how each player responds to specific in-game calls and situations.Given that Williams is a free agent at the end of the year, you’d think the general inclination would be for the Bills to commit to Elarms-Orr totally at the off-ball linebacker spot by some point this season, but he has to show he’s worthy of the full-time role.Until that point, inside linebacker has the makings of a platoon, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see a near-even split by the game’s end.Projected practice squad elevations: RB Frank Gore Jr., WR/PR Greg DortchProjected inactives: RB Ty Johnson, WR Skyler Bell, T Jude Bowry, G Ar’maj Reed-Adams, DL T.J. Sanders, OLB Mike Danna, S Jalon KilgorePredictionBills 23, Texans 17Despite all the attention to the Bills’ offense against the Texans’ defense, I think the true swing of this game will be Leonhard and the Bills’ defense against the Texans’ offense. Though the Texans have upgrades at quarterback, running back, and the offensive line since the last time the Bills played them, a brand-new scheme and playcaller can sometimes be a trump card early in a season.Leonhard is as bright a young defensive coach as you’ll find in the NFL, and he’s going to be eager to show what the Bills have been holding back in the preseason. With that in mind, I think this is a real opportunity for the Bills’ starting defensive linemen, Ed Oliver and Deone Walker, to make a big impact.Despite upgrades, the Texans remain susceptible to interior players who can create pressure. Ultimately, I think that defensive advantage will let Allen and the Bills sneak by in a potentially low-scoring win.