Playoffs: The upcoming Bengal game 1/7/12

[Arky]

The Texans (10-6) host their first ever playoff game this Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals (9-7) in a late afternoon game on NBC. Ironically, the Texans clinched against these very same Bengals in Week 14 at Cincinnati with a 1-point victory (20-19) in what was rookie QB TJ Yates' coming-out-party. The Texans haven't won since going 0-3 over their final three games. Yates is expected to start. Wide receiver Andre Johnson will play. The Texans opted to rest many starters and some played just a half in their final game of the regular season, so teamwide, they should be relatively healthy.

Since playing the Texans in Week 14, the Bengals have gone 2-1 defeating both Arizona and St. Louis by 7 and losing by 8 to Baltimore in their season finale. With the exception of a 34-12 win over Seattle in Week 8 and 35-7 blowout loss to Pittsburgh in Week 13, every Bengal game has been decided by 10 points or less. So, one could say they have a pretty good grasp of how to stay in the game and keep it close. Look for rookie QB Andy Dalton to hand off to RB Cedric Benson (1,067/3.9 ypc) and chuck the ball to favorite wideouts AJ Green (1,057/16.3 ypc) and Jerome "stick-the-landing" Simpson (725/14.5 ypc).

This is a good "starter game" for the Texans as they get their first introduction to the playoffs. They match up well against the Bengals and have a very good chance of winning.


TV = NBC (channel 2 local) 3:30 pm CST, Saturday, Jan 7

Announcers = Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock, Alex Flanagan

Favorite = Texans by 3