Texans at Bengals: Preview and prediction

The Houston Texans and Cincinnati Bengals are meeting on Monday Night Football at Paul Brown Stadium, and both need the game for different reasons.

Houston is sitting at 3-5 coming out of its BYE week, but the playoffs remain a distinct possibility. The Texans are only a half-game behind the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC South, with the winner of that rancid group likely to get the No. 4 seed in the postseason. The Texans are without much punch on offense beyond receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who has been very prolific despite the quarterback duo of Brian Hoyer and Ryan Mallett.

Cincinnati has been stunningly good, going 8-0 for the first time in franchise history. The Bengals are hoping to join the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers in the undefeated club after nine games, which would be the first time that a trio of teams have been without a defeat this late into the campaign.

In this game, the main matchup to watch will be Houston’s run defense against the Bengals running back duo of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard. Hill has endured a brutal sophomore season, gaining only 344 yards on 3.3 yards per carry. However, Bernard has been picking up the slack with a team-leading 511 rushing yards on 5.6 yards per carry.

Houston’s rush defense checks in at 27th, something Cincinnati will try to exploit. If the Texans can get the Bengals into second and third and longs, they can unleash a pass rush led by J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney.

Ultimately, Cincinnati probably has too much firepower for a Houston team that will be rested and ready, but overwhelmed.

Pick: Cincinnati 27, Houston 17