The Cincinnati Bengals are undefeated, and they'll get a chance to guarantee a better than .500 finish to their season under the bright lights of Monday Night Football, when they play host to the struggling Houston Texans.
Texans vs. Bengals 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
The undefeated Bengals will go for nine straight against the Texans on Monday night.
These teams are clearly going in opposite directions. Both looked promising just a couple seasons ago, but the Bengals seem to have finally turned a corner and joined the league’s elite, while the Texans have faltered and have one of the most unsettled quarterback positions of any team in the league.
Cincinnati is 8-0 on the season, and that includes wins over quality teams like the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers. The schedule gets harder from here, with a game against the Arizona Cardinals and a Week 16 showdown with the Denver Broncos still on the horizon.
Those are games Cincinnati could lose, but it feels secure in its playoff run with games against divisional rivals and the San Francisco 49ers still on the schedule. They are also heavily favored to win Monday's game against the Texans. It would be a huge shock if Andy Dalton couldn't lead the Bengals past them.
Houston has been a mess this season, making multiple changes at the quarterback position. Brian Hoyer was named the starter and told he wouldn't have a short leash, but he was benched in Week 1 and replaced by Ryan Mallett. Unfortunately for Houston, Mallett didn't work out, and violations of team rules caused the club to release him.
That means Hoyer, a seven-year veteran, is once again starting. He has been decent this season, completing 60.0 percent of his passes for 1,581 yards with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions. Hoyer has been careless with the football in years past, but his TD-to-pick ratio is excellent this year. With the Cleveland Browns last season, Hoyer threw 12 touchdowns against 13 interceptions, and for his career he had 19 touchdowns and 19 interceptions coming into 2015.
In other words, he’s playing much better now than he used to. But despite his hard work, the Texans still sit with a minus-2 differential when it comes to turnovers. They have just six interceptions and three fumble recoveries on the year, but have thrown seven interceptions and have lost four fumbles. This is notable because Cincinnati has a plus-4 differential, with 12 takeaways and eight giveaways.
The Texans actually grade out well in a few key areas. When it comes to throwing the ball, they rank sixth in the league in yards per game, just above the Bengals. They also grade out above the Bengals in passing defense, ranking eighth in the league with 227.4 passing yards allowed per game. The Bengals are all the way down at 15th in that category.
But those are the only advantages, and really, nobody is going to argue that a Hoyer-led offense is as strong or dangerous as a Dalton-led offense. The Bengals are very good, and they can both run and pass, and they’re not bad at stopping either of them. They are favored, and they should be.
How to watch
When: 8:30 p.m. ET
Where: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
TV: ESPN
Commentators: Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Lisa Salters
Online: WatchESPN, Verizon NFL Mobile
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