HOUSTON (AP) – Mario Williams got to see in person just how well the Houston Texans are playing without him.

Matt Schaub threw two touchdown passes, Arian Foster ran for 111 yards against Buffalo’s NFL-worst rush defense and the Texans beat the Bills and their former No. 1 draft pick 21-9 on Sunday.

Andre Johnson caught eight passes for 118 yards and Foster scored in his fifth straight game. The Texans (7-1) clamped down on defense in the second half to put the game away.

Houston kept up the best start in franchise history heading into next Sunday’s showdown with Chicago (7-1) at Soldier Field.

“We’re happy to be 7-1 at the halfway mark,” Schaub said. “But we’re not finished. We’ve got to go into a tough environment against a very good team next Sunday night.”

Williams had a sack and five tackles in his first game at Reliant Stadium since signing a six-year, $100 million contract with the Bills (3-5) in the offseason. The Texans made the defensive end the top overall pick in the 2006 draft and he’s still Houston’s career sacks leader (53). But Williams became a free agent after last season, and the Texans opted against breaking the bank to keep him and let him go.

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