NFL Wild Card Weekend Predictions: Houston Texans vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Cincinnati's 20-19 loss to the Texans at the hands of rookie quarterback T.J. Yates, who put together an eighty yard drive in the final minutes of the game to get the win on the road.  Even though that matchup was only four weeks ago, much has changed since then:

• Andre Johnson is healthy enough to play after missing the last meeting against the Bengals with a hamstring injury and will give Yates a threat downfield that the Texans lacked in Cincinnati.
• Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton missed practice on Thursday and spent the day in the hospital recovering from the flu. He is expected to start on Saturday but who knows how he actually feels.
• Yates is listed as probable after suffering from a separated shoulder
• Houston will have home-field advantage and has a season's worth of experience practicing on a turf field, while the Bengals have practiced outdoors all week
• The Bengals have more playoff experience than the Texans; this is Cincinnati's third playoff berth in the past seven years while Houston is in the postseason for the first time in franchise history

The Benglas dominated the Week 14 meeting for the first fifty-five minutes, going into halftime with a 16-3 and were up 19-10 to start the fourth quarter. Cincinnati forced four turnovers and held Arian Foster, the league's fifth leading rusher, to 41 yards on 15 carries. However, the Texans outgained the Bengals by 130 yards, lead by T.J. Yates' 300 yard performance. Houston, with the second best rushing attack in the NFL, combined for nearly 150 yards on the ground between Foster, Yates, and Ben Tate. Owen Daniels broke the 100 yard mark in the game, showing the Bengals' liability in stopping tight ends.

Keys for the Houston Texans

• Run the ball early and often--The Texans have one of the best backfields with Arian Foster and Ben Tate. Being a run-first offense will increase their time of possession and keep Andy Dalton sidelined. With the return over Andre Johnson, an All-Pro wide receiver when healthy, will give the Texans big play potential once the Bengals start expecting the run on over play.
• Hold onto the ball--Houston fumbled four times and threw one interception in the last matchup against the Bengals so quite honestly, they were lucky to win. Good teams don't commit turnovers in the playoffs. The teams that lose are the ones who make the small  and preventable mistakes.
• Put pressure on Andy Dalton--The casual NFL fan wouldn't be able to tell that Dalton was a rookie. He is the first rookie to start every game and lead his team to the playoffs. The Red Rifle has also been able to achieve individual glory with his 3,400 passing yards and 20 passing touchdowns. Sports Science found that Dalton was the most accurate quarterback in last year's draft class and can make opposing teams pay if he has enough time in the pocket. Fellow rookie teammate A.J. Green made the Pro Bowl after setting the Bengals' record for receiving yards in a season by a rookie (surpassed Chris Collinsworth). Jerome Simpson, most well known for his endzone acrobatics a few weeks ago, is also closing in on 1,000 yards and Jermaine Gresham is a great threat in the red zone.

Courtesy of http://www.statesman.com/sports/rookie-yates-leading-texans-into-playoffs-2078039.html

Keys for the Cincinnati Bengals

• Take an early lead--Houston will be completely behind their team in the Texans' first playoff berth in their short history. The only way to defeat home-field advantage is to put points on the board. An early lead will quiet a noisy stadium and shift the momentum in favor of the Bengals.
• Stop the run--Cincinnati shut down Arian Foster in the previous game against Houston, but Tate and Yates still managed to run for a combined 100 yards. If the Bengals can limit the Texans' ground game, that will put pressure on T.J. Yates, a rookie quarterback with only six games under his belt, to run the offense.

Courtesy of http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1011302-bengals-vs-texans-andy-dalton-hospitalized-with-flu-like-symptoms

This Wild Card matchup is a toss-up. Both teams are entering the playoffs on losing streaks and the game will be decided by which rookie quarterback plays better under pressure and which team protects the football. Cincinnati has been competitive in fifteen of sixteen games this season and Andy Dalton is a much better quaterback than T.J. Yates. The Bengals were dominant for three and a half quarters in Week 14 but gave it away at the end. Cincinnati still has some magic left in its tank, Andy Dalton is 3-0 in his career at Reliant Stadium, and the Bengals get their first playoff win since 1991, ironically against Houston (except they were the Oilers, not the Texans). Cincinnati wins 24-21 in a very close game in Houston.