Team Rankings Cincinnati Bengals Offense Points/G: 19 (22.2) Total YPG: 18 (326.1) Rush YPG: 20 (108.1) Pass YPG: 19 (218.0) Turnovers: 18 (-1) Defense Points/G: 14 (20.8) Total YPG: 6 (306.7) Tot Sacks: T11 (31) Intercept: T29 (6) Houston Texans Offense Points/G: 5 (25.8) Total YPG: 10 (376.2) Rush YPG: 3 (152.6) Pass YPG: 17 (223.6) Turnovers: 3 (+12) Defense Points/G: 2 (15.8) Total YPG: 2 (274.1) Tot Sacks: T2 (35) Intercept: T2 (17)
Like the Falcons, this is going to be a "Bonus" game for us - doesn't set us back in a major way if we lose a game as road dogs, but tightens the noose around the Titans if we pull it off. Win this game OR vs the Panthers and TEN can not best us by the common games tiebreaker, even if they upset the Saints. Magic Number is essentially 2 - beat Indy + CIN or CAR, or beat IND + Saints beat TEN. It's never a good idea to assume a win on the road, especially against a 7-5 team, but there's every reason to think we'll be competitive and have a shot. CIN vs teams above 0.500: 1-5 CIN vs teams below 0.500: 6-0 CIN at Home: 3-2 CIN on Road: 4-3 CIN at Home, vs teams above 0.500: 0-2 CIN vs top 5 defenses (yds allowed): 1-4 CIN vs top 5 defenses (pts allowed): 0-4 Andy Dalton vs top 5 defenses: 65 QBR Andy Dalton vs the rest: 93.6 QBR Dalton's earned a lot of praise....but he's still much more of a game manager than a passing stud. Only 3 times has he gotten to the 300-yd mark...6 times below 200. Like Atlanta, CIN has been very good against the run....until Sunday. They went from #3 in rush yards allowed to #6. Benson has been good, but not dominate on the ground. Nelson's had a big year at safety, but you don't usually like to see a safety lead you in tackles. Their LBs are solid, but not on the level of the Falcons' Lofton and Weatherspoon Their DT's are STOUT. Peko and Atkins are big, strong, shut down the middle, and can collapse a pocket. Their ends, on the other hand, aren't terrifying - this may work to our advantage since we rely so much on cutbacks and boots. Bengals have health issues with their corners. Top CB Leon Hall is on IR. Nate Clements, he of the mega-contract with the 49ers missed Sunday's game (hamstring) and probably won't be 100% if he returns. That leaves Don'tCallMePacMan Jones and Kelly Jennings. We're obviously without Andre, but hopefully this somewhat evens the odds. It's a winnable game, but it's fair for us to be underdogs in Ohio. I would hope we see a successful run game and dink and dunk passing from Yates. The defense should do their part, but we still need close to 20 points to have a good shot at the upset.
On paper this looks like a tough game, but I have so much confidence in our team right now it's unreal. I guess that's what a 6 game winning streak does. I think we'll make Andy Dalton look like a rookie, kind of like we did Matt Ryan last week. And their running game is nothing to be feared. Texans 24 Bengals 16 I again believe that Carolina is our biggest chance at a loss. That might be a game the offense has to win.
dumbass ad hominem is dumbass. tell me, how does this taste: That said, Houston has a good chance to win but I think the current line of Cincy winning by around 3 is about right. Go Texans!
I don't care how good Dalton looks. He is a rookie QB in the National Football League. Phillips' is going to teach him a lesson on Sunday. Texans destroy the Bengals by 24. At least 1 defensive TD.
possible first round playoffs match up here, assuming we get the 3rd seed and Bengals are the last wild-card to get in.
I really don't think they'll be the team... I think they're starting to show their true mettle once they've played the difficult teams, and three out of their last four games could be losses (Arizona is not a pushover). That being said, a loss by us would potentially help them make the playoffs, while not really hurting our chances all that much... so if we'd rather play the Bengals than the Titans, Broncos/Raiders or Jets, then we might as well keep that in mind. A win by us will further push the Bengals back. My money is on the Jets to lock up that last wild card spot, and they'll be the team that Housotn has to face.
it's crazy to think that a Wild Card can come out of the AFC South. the damn Titans just won't die. man, imagine if Texans/Titans is a first round playoff game.
