NFL Playoffs 2012: Bengals Hope To Snap Postseason Wins Drought Vs. Texans

Many of the nation’s football experts and columnists have released their predictions for the opening round of the postseason, to go along with SB Nation’s take on Cincinnati’s chances in the game and the reasons why the Texans might be favored to win.

ESPN has released their picks for the Wild-Card Weekend. The results there are decidedly more even. Between the eight columnists and two aggregators, five select the Texans to win, while five select the Bengals.

For more on the Bengals, be sure to check out the SB Nation blog Cincy Jungle. For more on the Texans, head over to Battle Red Blog. Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more updates on Saturday’s game.

We asked our Bengals blog, Cincy Jungle, why the Bengals will win and why they’ll lose:

Check out SB Nation’s NFL playoffs picks. Here is the complete 2012 NFL playoffs schedule.

Battle Red Blog explains why the Texans will win, and why they’ll lose:

Why the Texans will win: The Texans played their worst game of the season (allowed five sacks, lost the turnover battle 4:2, and played without their star receiver) and still won on the road, in large part due to the defense keeping them in the game with incredible halftime adjustments. If Houston cleans up their own mistakes then they should control the ball game.

For more on the Bengals, head over to the SB Nation blog Cincy Jungle. For more on the Texans, check out Battle Red Blog. Stay tuned to this StoryStream for more updates on Saturday’s game.

For those trying to catch Saturday’s game on their mobile device of choice, those with Verizon Wireless can download the NFL Mobile app from NFL.com to access live video feeds. Unfortunately, those without Verizon are out of luck unless they resort to more dubious methods.

For more on Saturday’s game, be sure to head over to Bengals blog Cincy Jungle and Texans blog Battle Red Blog.

Both of Saturday’s playoff games will be shown on NBC, with their “B” team of Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock, and sideline reporter Alex Flanagan assigned to the Bengals-Texans game.

Led by Yates, the Texans came from behind to defeat the Bengals 20-19 in Week 14. Dalton passed 189 yards and a touchdown in that meeting and Tim at Battle Red Blog anticipates a long day for Dalton against a Texans defense that ranked 2nd in total and were 3rd against the pass.

SB Nation’s NFL playoffs roundtable moves away from upset watch and looks to the x-factors on Wild Card weekend.

Which player is the biggest x-factor this weekend? By that we mean, a team will win or lose largely due to which player. In this roundtable we have the Texans’ Arian Foster represented along with Ben Roethlisberger and T.J. Yates.

Related: Bengals Vs. Texans 2012 | Cincy Jungle | Battle Red Blog | NFL Playoffs Hub

SB Nation’s Bengals blog, Cincy Jungle, takes a look at Bengals declining rush defense, which still ranks No. 10 in the league in yards allowed per game:

This is the weekend every NFL team has been waiting for (which means there are 20 disappointed teams). The playoffs in the NFL always have an upset or two and I suspect this year wil be no different.

It will be the first time rookie quarterbacks face off against each other in the playoffs and this should be a close game as many experts are predicting.

Mayock started calling games on the NFL Network this season, but he makes the jump to broadcast networks for the playoffs. He’ll be in the booth for the Bengals Vs. Texans on NBC this Saturday.

For more on the Bengals, check out Cincy Jungle. Head over to Battle Red Blog for more on the Texans.

Experts at other outlets are also divided. NFL experts from both CBS and Yahoo! were split on the game, though both outlets slightly leaned towards the Bengals.

For more on Dalton, check out Bengals blog Cincy Jungle. For more on the game, read about their opponents on Texans blog Battle Red Blog and check out SB Nation’s NFL hub.

Worry no more, Bengals fans: Dalton is fine.

He tells Geoff Hobson of the Bengals official sitethat it was just a 24-hour bug, he feels fine now and he will practice on Thursday. That’s good news for the Bengals considering Dalton has been one of the keys to their success this year.

There’s no reason to believe that Dalton won’t be able to play at a high level for the Bengals this weekend if he’s able to get back to full practice on Thursday, but it’s still concerning when a team’s starting quarterback is very sick and “staying close to the toilet and sink,” as Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis so elegantly put it.

For more on Dalton, check out Bengals blog Cincy Jungle. For more on the game, read about their opponents on Texans blog Battle Red Blog and check out SB Nation’s NFL hub.

No matter how you slice it, these two teams seem to match up pretty well. Interestingly enough, though, the Texans are favored by exactly 3 points, which is usually the automatic advantage oddsmakers give the home team.

For more on this game, be sure to check out SB Nation’s NFL hub.

Neither team merits mention in the discussion about 2012 Wild Card Weekend teams that could win the Super Bowl, and Andrew Sharp is amazed that T.J. Yates and Andy Dalton are playoff quarterbacks, but if series history is any indication, the Texans and Bengals may have an entertaining game to play on Saturday.

For more on the two teams, check out Bengals blog Cincy Jungle and Texans blog Battle Red Blog.

The Cincinnati Bengals have put a lot of faith in rookie quarterback Andy Dalton this season, letting him start all 16 games. So far, their faith has been repaid handsomely. Now, it looks like they are playing it careful and giving Dalton the day off from practice just days before their AFC Wild Card playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The official word is apparently that Dalton is day-to-day and essentially called in sick with an intestinal virus.

Bengals blog Cincy Jungle pointed out that the temperatures in Cincinnati hovered around 20 degrees on Wednesday.

The Texans carried the stigma of a newcomer. The uniforms look different. The players are strangers. It’s the little things that make expansion teams feel like the new kid that moved in from Cleveland in the middle of seventh grade: a curiosity, politely acknowledged, yet mostly unseen.

Like most teams still playing, Houston got a little bit of luck in the win. Atlanta picked off Yates and returned it for a touchdown, but a defensive holding penalty took away what might have been the game-winner. With a new set of downs inside their own 30-yard line, Houston improbably started running the ball.

For more on the Bengals, visit SB Nation’s Cincy Jungle and for more on the Texans check out Battle Red Blog. Also check out the updated NFL draft order for those non-playoff teams.

So, yes, the Bengals should feel confident that they can win. They put themselves in position to win back in Week 14 but just couldn’t close it out. SB Nation’s Cincy Jungle recapped that game and came to a great conclusion:

Usually it’s the Bengals making the dramatic fourth quarter comeback. That’s what they’ve been doing all year. The playoffs are different than the regular season. The intensity is higher and the focus is sharper. They simply can not allow the Texans to get back into the game if they can secure a lead.

For more on Yates’ status, be sure to follow this StoryStream. Check out Texans blog Battle Red Blog for more analysis.

The Texans have a terrific run game so they’ve been able to survive without Johnson for part of this year. They’ll be facing a strong Bengals defensive line next weekend so they’ll need all the help they can get in the passing game. Johnson should provide some help.

For more on the Bengals, visit SB Nation’s Cincy Jungle and for more on the Texans check out Battle Red Blog. Also check out the updated NFL draft order for those non-playoff teams.

SB Nation’s Cincy Jungle is obviously excited about Cincy’s improbable run and recaps the season nicely in this post.

Indeed, everyone has a shot. And the Bengals may have the best chance at an upset on Wildcard weekend. They’re playing a Texans team that has lost three straight and, like the Bengals, will start a rookie quarterback in the playoffs.

Since the AFC/NFC merger, only 11 rookie quarterbacks have started a playoff game.

History doesn’t bode well for either, as rookie quarterbacks have gone 6-9 in the playoffs, throwing 15 TD’s and 23 INT’s.