How the Texans beat the Bengals, three keys to success.
Nov 16, 2014; Cleveland, OH, USA; Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt (99) waves to fans after beating the Cleveland Browns 23-7 at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports
For the Texans sitting at 5-5 they need to win out the remainder of the season if they want to have any hope of going to the playoffs. They passed their first test in beating the Browns under the command of Ryan Mallett and the excellent running of Alfred Blue. The Bengals are up next, and thanks to Houston beating Cleveland are sitting atop the AFC North. Here’s three keys for the Texans to beat the Bengals and stay in the playoff hunt.
1. Disrupt Andy Dalton
I hear there are two Andy Dalton’s that play for the Bengals. The Good Andy, who hits 79% or more of his passes and wins ball games and there is Bad Andy who get’s out of synch with his receivers and loses. The Texans defense front 7 have to keep up that excellent pass rush they had going last week. They were so good last week that J.J. Watt was named the AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his stellar job against the Browns. Having Watt is amazing, having a near healthy Cushing? Even better. What they did last week must carry over.
2. Mallett Time.
Against the Browns, we saw the Texans running offensive plays as fast as fast as Mallett could get the team to the line. It was amazing to watch not only for a quarterback who had never started an NFL game before but for the Texans offense to respond so well. Sure there were some miscues and mistakes but that fast pace helped the Texans manhandle the Browns. They need to play at Mallett’s frenzied pace again this week to have any hope of winning this game.
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3. The offensive line.
The Texans had their best game played yet from the the o-line. Keeping Mallett from being sacked, breaking open huge holes for Blue to run through. That line was a sight to behold against the Browns. Now they have to stand up and show they can handle another Mallett time style game. The Bengals will be looking to pressure Mallett and mix up their coverage’s to confuse him. The line has to hold, because Mallett isn’t as inclined as say Fitzpatrick to scamper off. He’ll stand in the packet looking to pull the trigger.
The Bengals might be a 6-3-1 team and present another big challenge for the Texans. It’s not often you get to take on the top of the division two weeks in a run, it’s even less to beat the top twice.
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