Bengals Vs. Texans, NFL Playoffs 2012: Houston Through To The Next Round With 31-10 Win

Here’s a look at Foster’s touchdown.

We were wondering earlier if Andre Johnson and his 90 yards receiving should be considered the MVP of this game but it’s clear Foster has that wrapped up. He’s carried Houston throughout the day and his 153 yards show it.

The Bengals defensive line is better than you’d think but that’s hard to say after Arian Foster has over five yards a carry on them.

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. Here’s the complete 2012 NFL playoffs schedule.

It’s a measure of how well the Texans are playing that picking off that pass, which cost them about 30 yards of field position, was a bona fide mistake.

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. Here’s the complete 2012 NFL playoffs schedule.

After the jump, the latest entry in Simpson’s jaw-dropping feats of athleticism collection.

High jump, long jump or hurdles: let’s go ahead and start a Jerome Simpson for USA Track and Field campaign now.

And then Yates dropped back to pass to see a completely wide-open Andre Johnson streaking down the left sideline.

Foster may still be the MVP with 93 yards rushing and over 100 total yards, Johnson’s 86 receiving yards have been huge. The Texans are en route to their first playoff win in franchise history.

The score remains 17-10 in Houston’s favor.

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. Here’s the complete 2012 NFL playoffs schedule.

Nugent made the 37-yard field goal after missing one from 50 yards earlier in the game.

Dalton has been excellent for the Bengals, completing 12 of 16 passes for 121 yards.

Green has four catches for 42 yards so far, and is clearly going to be the focal point of the Cincinnati offense on this Saturday.

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. Here’s the complete 2012 NFL playoffs schedule.

But what he did after his touchdown was even better. Earlier in the week Foster tweeted that he wanted to pay homage to Houston Rockets Legend Hakeem Olajuwon with the Dream Shake. What’s that, you ask? Take a look:

That’s compared to the original Dream Shake:

But the Texans offense quickly responded to tie the game.

That set up Foster’s touchdown which came on an eight-yard run. Foster is the early star in this game with 47 yards on seven carries. The Texans should be confident if he continues running at that rate.

Both Benson, a Texas product, and Dalton, from TCU, are playing games in front of a crowd that likely includes more than a few family and friends. Early on, nerves may well be a factor.

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. Here’s the complete 2012 NFL playoffs schedule.

Foster also came awfully close to coughing it up, which would have been disastrous for Houston.

The Texans and Bengals are at no score through one drive in this AFC Wild Card game.

Nick Scurfield of the official Texans blog has supplied the full inactives lists for both teams in the game. No real surprises with these lists.

Neither team needs to make any starting lineup changes as a result of these moves.

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.

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.