Perhaps no team in the NFL has been as stricken by the injury bug as the 2012 Houston Texans. Despite losing their top two starting quarterbacks for the season, and Arian Foster and Andre Johnson for weeks at a time, they still managed to finish the regular season with a 10-6 record and a playoff berth. The Cincinnati Bengals enter Saturday's AFC Wild Card game with some injury concerns of their own. The relative health of both teams could be the key to the game.
AFC Wild Card 2012, Bengals Vs. Texans: Cincinnati Relatively Healthy, Houston Not As Much
By sheer numbers, the Texans' injury report looks much more worrisome. The team listed 20 players with some sort of ailment this week. Johnson is perhaps the most important player to keep an eye on. He played roughly 20 snaps last week while dealing with a nagging hamstring injury, catching just two passes for 21 yards. Johnson is expected to earn roughly 45-50 snaps on Saturday, giving Houston a much-needed boost with rookie T.J. Yates under center.
The Bengals are generally in much better standing health-wise. Quarterback Andy Dalton was hospitalized with an illness earlier this week, but has since been released and is expected to be 100 percent for the game. One player to keep an eye on will be Geno Atkins, who was unable to practice fully this week until Friday due to an Achilles injury. Against a vaunted Texans running attack, his presence will be critical along the defensive line.
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.
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