I chose the Cincinnati Bengals to beat the resilient Houston Texans. I figured it would be difficult if not impossible for the Texans to win with a third-string rookie quarterback. The Texans were also missing their star defensive end, Mario Williams. I thought that, for the most part, Andy Dalton has been protecting the football and playing more like a veteran and less like a rookie. I thought the Bengals would find a way to get AJ Green free from suffocating double coverage. Finally, I thought that the Cincinnati Bengals defense would shut down the run and force the Houston Texans to pass.
I knew that the Houston Texans had an excellent defense, but they really suffocated the Cincinnati Bengals. They forced three Andy Dalton turnovers. Besides that, they simply crushed the running game. The Cincinnati Bengals’ running backs (Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott) combined for 13 attempts for 25 yards. That’s it. AJ Green, Andy Dalton’s favorite receiver, had five catches for only 47 yards. But that’s only half the story. The offensive line for the Houston Texans simply dominated. One would figure that the Cincinnati Bengals wanted to stop the run, but they simply couldn’t. Adrian Foster ran for 153 yards on 24 carries. He was brilliant and so was the offensive line.
I’m not sure if I underestimated the Houston Texans or overestimated the Cincinnati Bengals. Either way – congratulations to the Houston Texans.
