(Arguably the most disappointing loss of the season, at least the regular season. Once again, just as you start to give the Bengals some credit, they lay an egg. To add injury to insult, start RDE Antwan Odom was lost for the season in the Houston game to an Achilles tendon tear. The Texans were the team that took advantage of an over-aggressive defense, killing the Bengals in the screen game and with the Tight End in mismatches. ((I sincerely hope the Bengals take a few pages from Kyle Shanahan's playbook from this game)). No late game heroics here, except from roid head Brian Cushing. The Bengals would be 4-2 after week six, still a very good start).
Bengals v Texans Primer
The Bengals come off three straight division wins to take on a Texans team that once again seems to be underachieving considering their “talent”. The Texans are 2-3 with wins over Tennessee and Oakland, two teams with a combined one win. This team has some nice offensive skill guys and about three good players on the defense. In short, the Bengals should and must take care of this team Sunday.
When the Texans have the ball:
The Bengals are the best team in the league at shutting down the opponents #1 receiver. The Texans have one of the best in the league in Andre Johnson, but he will have to work through double and even triple teams to do anything in this game. He has two big games, one against Tennessee and last week against Arizona. Neither of those teams have a secondary playing as well as the Bengals. The Texans will have to rely on Owen Daniels, Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones and Steve Slaton to pick up the slack.
Steve Slaton is the key to this team, and the Texans have gotten nothing going so far this year in the run game. They use a zone blocking scheme, which has been susceptible this year to defensive tackles penetrating and breaking the continuity of blocks for negative plays. The team has been bad on first down and bad in short yardage; pretty much just bad. The offensive line has not played well and will have problems against the Bengals defensive front.
If there is a ray of hope for the Texans, it’s that Matt Schaub has 10 TD passes and leads a passing attack quite used to playing from behind. This team came from 21 back against Arizona and are not intimidated by large deficits. This team reminds me a lot of Green Bay in the way they use roll outs and movement to keep rushers off of Schaub, and every receiver has the chance to break big plays if coverage isn’t disciplined. This pass offense can be dynamic, but not nearly as much with no run game.
When the Bengals have the ball:
This may be the worst defense the Bengals will have faced this year, including the Browns. The Texans are an aggressive defense that is geared for getting pressure on the quarterback and creating turnovers. The problem is they aren’t doing either. Add to this that they can’t stop the run, and it adds up to big problems against a potentially balanced Bengal attack.
The Texans have Mario Williams, Demeco Ryans, and that’s about it. Cushing has flashed, but the rest of their front seven is underwhelming. Their secondary is terrible, and the safeties will have to come up in run support. Play action passing will shred this team, and they are the worst in the league at stopping #1 receivers. The Bengal receiving corps should have a field day.
The key will be not self-destructing. As well as the Bengals have played defensively, this team is still -2 in turnovers. Two of those have been pick sixes, and another was an INT deep in their own territory. You can’t give the Texans the ball. The Bengals also have not scored a ton of points. As well as the redzone defense has played, the redzone offense has been as poor. This team has gotten into trouble in past years settling for field goals instead of touchdowns, and this year they can’t even say that with the troubles in the kicking game. This team can’t wait until the last drive of the game to score touchdowns every week. Eventually you won’t get that chance.
This offense has gone up against much better competition in the last few weeks than they will see Sunday, and they need to take care of business. Play smart and they win this game.
Teams:
The Texans have a good return man in Jacoby Jones and a decent kicker in Kris Brown. The Bengals have to do a better job in kickoff coverage, especially after scores. No more let downs please. You can’t let the Texans offensive off the hook by giving them a short field. Make them earn points with a one dimensional offense. The Bengals return game has been solid, especially on punts. The kicking game can’t be worse now that Brad St. Louis is gone.
Prediction:
The Bengals really should score over 30 against a team that’s given up no less than 24 to any team outside of Oakland. If the Texans continue to struggle running the ball, I can’t see them scoring more than 24. This is a game the Bengals should win, even if they come out flat. Good teams beat bad teams at home.
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