Houston Texans running back Woody Marks (27) carries the ball against the Jacksonville Jaguars during the second half at NRG Stadium in Houston on Nov. 9, 2025.

The Buffalo Bills find themselves in unfamiliar territory entering their Week 12 matchup against the Houston Texans.

The Bills (7-3) have won the AFC East title in each of the last five seasons. However, they are currently a game and a half back of the New England Patriots (9-2) in the race for first place in the division.

Buffalo has plenty of time to make up ground on New England. The two are set to face off in Week 15, a matchup that could go a long way toward determining which squad will earn the right to play at least one home game in the postseason – if not, more.

Still, the Bills will want to close that gap sooner rather than later. After all, the AFC wild-card race is shaping up to be a closely contested one, especially with the three-time reigning AFC champion Kansas City Chiefs currently sitting on the outside looking in of the playoff picture.

The Texans (5-5) are among the teams looking to clamber their way into the wild-card race after a slow start to the season. They have won three of their last four games and have seen backup quarterback Davis Mills lead them to back-to-back wins with C.J. Stroud (concussion) out of action.

Stroud is set to miss Thursday's game, so Mills will once again be counted on to lead the Texans. Meanwhile, the Bills will be leaning on Josh Allen after the reigning NFL MVP logged six total touchdowns in a Week 11 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Here's what to know about the Texans vs. Bills "Thursday Night Football" matchup for NFL Week 12 and how to watch it.

What time does Texans-Bills NFL game start?

The Texans vs. Bills game will kick off at 8:15 p.m. ET on Nov. 20. Buffalo will travel to Houston to play at NRG Stadium as it looks to make up ground on the New England Patriots in the AFC East race.

What channel is Houston Texans vs. Buffalo Bills on tonight?

Amazon Prime is set to broadcast Thursday's Texans vs. Bills game as part of its "Thursday Night Football" package. The streaming giant has owned the broadcast rights to "TNF" since the start of the 2023 NFL season and will continue to feature Al Michaels (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (game analyst) and Kaylee Hartung (sideline reporter) as its top broadcast team.

NFL fans watching Thursday's game nationally will need an Amazon Prime subscription to access it. That said, the league has a deal with the streaming giant that requires it to regionally broadcast the game in the local markets of the teams playing. That means those in the Houston and Buffalo markets will be able to catch the game without a Prime Video subscription.

Below is a look at the local channels that will air the Texans vs. Bills matchup:

  • Houston: KRIV (Fox 26)
  • Buffalo: WKBW (ABC 7)

Watch "Thursday Night Football" with a Prime Video subscription

2025 Houston Texans schedule

Houston Texans record 2025

  • Houston Texans: 5-5; third in the AFC South.

2025 Buffalo Bills schedule

Buffalo Bills record 2025

  • Buffalo Bills: 7-3; second in the AFC East.

2025 NFL team schedules: complete team-by-team schedule of games

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  • AFC North: Baltimore Ravens − Schedule | Cincinnati Bengals − Schedule | Cleveland Browns − Schedule | Pittsburgh Steelers − Schedule
  • AFC South: Houston Texans − Schedule | Indianapolis Colts − Schedule | Jacksonville Jaguars − Schedule | Tennessee Titans − Schedule
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  • NFC South: Atlanta Falcons − Schedule | Carolina Panthers − Schedule | New Orleans Saints − Schedule | Tampa Bay Buccaneers − Schedule
  • NFC West: Arizona Cardinals − Schedule | Los Angeles Rams − Schedule | San Francisco 49ers − Schedule | Seattle Seahawks − Schedule

Complete 2025 NFL regular season schedule: every team's games, week-by-week

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What channel is Texans vs Bills Thursday Night Football? Start time, schedule, stream

Reporting by Jacob Camenker, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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