The Houston Texans square off against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati on Thursday night. This game will be a showdown of two teams who desperately need a bounce back win after subpar performances in Week 1.
The Texans home opener was spoiled by Jacksonville, the Jags were in full control from start to finish leaving NRG with a 29-7 victory. Cincinnati played equally as bad, the Bengals had their hands full with Baltimore which ended with a 20-0 outcome in favor of the Purple Birds.
It’s only Week 2, but both teams are already feeling the pressure to get that first win. To make matters even more difficult, the schedules don’t get any easier in Week 3, with Houston heading to New England and Cincinnati traveling to Green Bay following Thursday night’s clash. Nobody wants to press the “must win” Button in Week 2, but it is very possible the loser on Thursday night could easily be 0-3 and very much behind the eight-ball for 2017.
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This matchup will include two former Tigers who will duel it out under center. Former Katy High School and TCU standout Andy Dalton will lead the Bengals in their prime time AFC matchup against the 1st round draft pick out of Clemson, Deshaun Watson, who gets the nod from the Texans coaching staff.
Starting with Dalton, the “Red Rifle” had arguably his worst outing in his NFL career on Sunday against Baltimore. Dalton threw four interceptions picks and his offense put up a goose egg on the scoreboard. Granted, the Ravens defense does look to be strong this season, the Bengals were still completely dominated both on the ground and in through the air, they only managed 221 yards of offense accompanied with nine penalties. Per CBS Sports, this was the first time the Bengals have been shut out in a season opener since 1979, and the first time in their history they were shutout in a home opener.
Meanwhile, Watson enters as the favorite to get the nod to start. Last week, he replaced Tom Savage at halftime and led the Texans to their only scoring drive of the game. On paper, Watson appears to be the logical choice given the porous condition of the Texans offensive line. They’ll need that mobility at quarterback, because whoever they have under center will be running for their life week in and week out. Watson didn’t necessarily have a terrible game, but he didn’t have a great one either.
Photo via Troy Taormina-USA Today Sports
The downside to this early season action is exposing Watson before he is ready to shoulder the responsibility. Texans fans may be excited to see their potential quarterback of the future already on the field, but Houston is playing a dangerous game rolling the dice with Watson so soon.
To make the climb a little steeper, the Texans lost a slew of players to injuries on Sunday afternoon, Tight ends Ryan Griffin, C.J Fiedorowicz, LB Brian Cushing, WR Bruce Ellington all left the game with concussions and Cushing will be out after being suspended for a second PED violation.
Neither team appears to be a big contender in the AFC this season, but a loss Thursday will more than likely result in a three-game skid accompanied with the franchise being thrusted into full blown panic mode.
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