This Sunday's matchup featuring the Houston Texans and the Cincinnati Bengals will be the first meeting between the two since their battle in week 10 of the 2023 season. In it, the Texans walked off the Bengals 30-27 on a 38-yard field goal by Ka'imi Fairbairn stand-in Matt Ammendola.
Since then, the two franchises have had their respective ups and downs as AFC contenders, with neither reaching the heights that their respective potentials would've suggested at this point. Regardless, both are entrenched as legitimate threats in the AFC who are itching to establish their contendership in the 2026 season.
With that said, here are three specific position battles that I'll be focused on this week, especially after the chaos that was week one's slate of games and outcomes.
Three key position battles to watch in Texans vs. Bengals on Sunday
Texans' secondary vs. wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins
Something has to give in Houston's weeks two matchup against Cincinnati. Specifically, in the battle between the Texans vaunted--albeit a bit compromised at the moment--secondary and the Bengals' dynamic duo of wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Last week, the Texans' secondary allowed 323 passing yards, two passing touchdowns and a 130.5 rating from Bills MVP quarterback Josh Allen in their 36-31 heartbreaker of a loss. Defensive backs Kamari Lassiter and Reed Blankenship bore the brunt of the aerial assault, as they combined to allow 11 receptions for 223 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, an average passer rating of 155.8 and an average catch rate of 85.7% (according to NFL Next Gen Stats). However, even with such an abysmal outing from one of the best defensive units in the league, no one is ready to abandon ship on how effective they can be as a whole.
On the other side, Chase and Higgins combined for five catches for only 71 receiving yards and zero touchdowns in their matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. By their standards, it was an absolute stinker of an afternoon even though their team ended up defeating Tampa Bay 33-27. In spite of the week one performance, Chase and Higgins are still arguably the best duo of wide receivers on a single team in the NFL, and it would be foolish for any secondary to believe otherwise.
With that said, it should be a very juicy week two when it comes to how each set of prolific playmakers respond to what were gross underperformances the week prior.
Texans' safeties against vs. tight end Mike Gesicki
Speaking of dismal performances, Houston's secondary (specifically the safeties) have had a difficult time as of late with guarding tight ends across the NFL. Against the Bills, tight end Dalton Kinkaid went berserk and had best receiving game of his career, with five catches (six targets) for 130 receiving yards, with an average of 26 yards per catch.
Before that, here are several instances of Houston's secondary allowing good to great games to tight ends:
- Brock Bowers, Las Vegas Raiders (week 16 of 2025 season): 5 receptions (100% catch rate), 33 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
- Trey McBride, Arizona Cardinals (week 15 of 2025 season): 12 receptions, 134 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns
- Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (2024-2025 AFC Divisional round): 7 receptions, 117 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
Now, to be fair to Houston, it's not like they've allowed these games to depth players. This list is a who's who of the best at the position of the last half-decade. Having said that, it's still concerning how productive Texans defensive backs have allowed these players to be in high leverage moments.
While Bengals tight end Mike Gesicki isn't necessarily a Hall of Famer in waiting, he's still shown himself to be a very productive piece to any offense's puzzle throughout his career. Just as recently as last week against Tampa Bay, he actually led all Bengals pass catchers in both receiving yards (78) and receptions (five). After getting absolutely torched by Kinkaid last week, this will be an interesting matchup to look out for in their week two showdown.
Texans' pass rushers vs. Bengals' offensive line
Last week, Houston's All-Pro pass rushing duo of Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter had a more-than-forgettable game against the Bills' offensive line. Combining for 0.5 sacks (out of a team total of only two), Anderson and Hunter were virtually neutralized by Buffalo's offensive line group across 60 minutes of NFL action.
For the Bengals, their offensive line only allowed one sack total in week one against the Buccaneers, which signals another potential problem if Houston can't fully unleash their defensive front like needed. Similar to the urgency surrounding the secondary, Houston's pass rushers presumably want to get the bitter taste of defeat out of their mouths after last week's embarrassing output. However, I'm sure that Cincinnati's pass protectors are eager to show that their week one wasn't a fluke.
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