With Christmas being on a Sunday this year, 12 of the Week 16 games will be played on Saturday. The Houston Texans are looking clinch the AFC South this week, and the first step is a win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Christmas Eve.
Bengals vs. Texans 2016: Time, TV schedule and team news for Saturday football
Quarterback Tom Savage will get his first start for the Texans.
Texans head coach Bill O’Brien made the decision to start quarterback Tom Savage over a struggling Brock Osweiler to get his team to and through the postseason. Savage is in his third year with Houston, and went 23-of-36 for 260 yards coming off the bench in Week 15 against the Jaguars.
Team owner Bob McNair supported the coach’s decision, saying via the Houston Chronicle, “I mean, that was a gutsy call. Give coach credit, he made a change and it was for the good of the team. We benefited from it. Now we have three good quarterbacks and we are proud of all of them.”
The young quarterback will need a lot of help from his supporting cast. Running back Lamar Miller ranks sixth in the NFL with 1,073 rushing yards and is looking for his third game in a row with a touchdown. Wideouts DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller will need to find separation against the Bengals secondary in order to give Savage a little wiggle room in the pocket. But the offense’s biggest success could come from their tight end duo C.J. Fiedorowicz and Ryan Griffin, who’s coming off a career-high day with 85 receiving yards.
One of the strongest units of the Texans team is their defense, but with injuries taking out multiple starters throughout the season, the talent is thinning. They still boast defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who has five sacks so far this year, and linebacker Benardrick McKinney — the only player in the league with over 100 tackles (121) and five or more sacks.
The Texans’ tough defense will pose quite the struggle for Cincinnati, which is coming off a loss that wiped it out of the postseason discussion. After an impressive first half against the Steelers in Week 15, penalties and injuries dimmed any kind of momentum the Bengals were building and left them with a four-point defeat.
The Bengals’ offense started off strong, taking a 20-9 lead heading into halftime. With wide receiver and deep threat A.J. Green still on the sideline, Brandon LaFell stepped up in a big way, snagging 77 yards on six catches in just the first 30 minutes. The team had a hard time getting into the end zone all day, despite successful drives into the red zone — ultimately leading to their downfall.
Penalties continue to kill the Bengals’ defense. In Week 15, they drew flags on four straight defensive plays and allowed 18 unanswered points. Controversial linebacker Vontaze Burfict was knocked out of last week’s game, but was able to return after clearing concussion protocol. Burfict will certainly be able to rush the Texans’ new starting quarterback, and give his team a chance for a late-season win.
The Texans currently control the AFC South and can clinch the division this week with a win and a Tennessee loss. The last time Houston faced Cincinnati, the Texans won 10-6 in a hard-fought defensive battle.
How to watch
Time: 8:25 p.m. ET
Place: NRG Stadium, Houston
TV: NFL Network
Announcers: Kevin Harlan, Rich Gannon, Stacey Dales
Online: Sunday Ticket
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