Texans vs. Bengals 2017: 4 things we learned from Houston’s low-scoring win

The Houston Texans squeaked out a road win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night, 13-9, in a game that didn’t feature much exciting action and only had one touchdown the whole night. The good news is that it was a dazzling touchdown, a 49-yard scamper by Deshaun Watson that ultimately decided the game.

You could call it a defensive slugfest if you want to be generous, but in truth it was a poorly played game. Neither offense was in sync, with the Bengals stinking up the joint for the second week in a row. The Texans tried their best to hide Watson, but their running backs rarely found holes against Cincinnati’s defensive line. The result was a meandering punt fest that won’t help Thursday Night Football’s low reputation.

In the end, the Texans get in the win column for the first time this season, while the Bengals are dangerously verging towards a full-on crisis. Here are four things we learned from the game.

Despite promising moments, such as the running touchdown, Watson looked every bit like a rookie thrown into the starting job on a short week. His accuracy continued to be a big concern, under-throwing receivers and nearly throwing multiple pick-sixes. He finished with 15-of-24 passing for 125 yards and no touchdowns, but he at least avoided turnovers. He also made the smart move by leaning on his best receiver, targeting DeAndre Hopkins 13 times. Hopkins got seven catches for 73 yards and helped Watson get out of some jams, even with the errant throws.

Watson was poised and efficient when he needed to be, helping the Texans bleed clock in the fourth quarter with short passes and well-timed scrambles that kept the chains moving. Bill O’Brien clearly didn’t trust Watson enough to open up the playbook, and there are a lot of wrinkles in his game that need to be ironed out. But he had enough good moments to build on, and that’s about all the Texans can hope for with their offensive line and tight ends ravaged by injury. Watson will get his biggest test yet when he faces the New England Patritos next week.

We’re eight quarters into the season and the Bengals have yet to score a touchdown. It took them five quarters to score any points, period.

It’s kind of baffling that an offense with A.J. Green, Tyler Eifert, Giovani Bernard, and Joe Mixon looks this impotent, but here we are. Dalton finished the game with just 224 yards on 20-of-35 passing, Green was held to 67 yards on five catches, and Bernard ended up with 26 total yards on seven touches. Eifert didn’t even get targeted until the second quarter, ending up with three catches for 42 yards. Mixon had some nice runs and led the team with 36 yards on nine carries, but that was about it for his contribution. It was an abysmal effort all around.

Another strange moment from the Bengals was their usage of John Ross, the No. 9 overall pick. Ross got an end-around for his first NFL carry and coughed up the ball to Jadeveon Clowney. It was a bad moment, but something that Kareem Hunt bounced back from just a week prior. Ross wasn’t seen the rest of the game, while the Bengals fed targets to an unknown Alex Erickson. Ross did miss Week 1 with a knee injury and it’s possible he aggravated it, but it’s still head-scratching how the Bengals used him in a must-win game.

After getting blanked by the Baltimore Ravens last week, Bengals fans can officially start panicking. They’re already in the dreaded 0-2 hole and get the Green Bay Packers on the road in Week 3. This was the worst start possible for Marvin Lewis and his gang. After missing the playoffs last season, the heat is once again turning up on Lewis, who appeared to have no answers on Thursday night.

This game was ultimately won in the trenches. Despite his team’s losing efforts, Geno Atkins was arguably the best player on the field, routinely blowing up the Texans’ makeshift offensive line and harassing Watson all night. This sack in particular was a real “welcome to the NFL” moment for Watson.

If it wasn’t for Atkins, the Bengals probably lose this game by way more than four points.

On the other side, J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney did their thing, not allowing the Bengals’ running game to find a rhythm and forcing Dalton into bad throws. The Texans have deep, deep flaws on offense, but that front seven will keep them in games more often than not.

It’s a broken record, but it’s still true. These Thursday games will never get better as long as teams are stuck on a short week of practice with little time to rest up from the last game. Last week’s Kansas City Chiefs-New England Patriots thriller was the exception that proves the rule, and now it’s business as usual with boring, sloppy football. The Texans and Bengals combined for 16 punts, with neither team cracking 300 offensive net yards. It was frankly bad television, which we’ve come to expect at this point.

Next week’s matchup? San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams. Hide the kids.