Texans vs. Bengals live blog: 24-17 Bengals, 3rd Q

The Houston Texans take on the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 16. Follow along with all of the updates here.

First quarter

15:00 — Cincinnati wins the toss, defers. Texans football.

14:10 — QB Deshaun Watson throws a 3-yard pass to TE Kahale Warring from the Houston 27 on third-and-7. Three-and-out.

13:20 — QB Brandon Allen throws a 28-yard screen to RB Giovani Bernard up to the Houston 43-yard line.

10:41 — Allen throws a screen to RB Samaje Perine for a 15-yard gain on first-and-10 from the Houston 31.

8:37 — Allen throws an 8-yard touchdown to TE Drew Sample on a pick play. Extra point is good. Bengals 7-0

7:19 — Watson throws a pass that would have picked up the third-and-1 from the Texans’ 34. However, WR Chad Hansen drops it. Three-and-out.

3:37 — With nothing to lose, the Bengals go for it on fourth-and-2 at the Houston 43-yard line. Allen’s pass for WR A.J. Green down the right sideline falls incomplete. Good coverage by CB Keion Crossen.

3:33 — Watson throws a 50-yard pass to WR Brandin Cooks down to the Cincinnati 7-yard line.

1:24 — Houston can’t punch it in and settle for a 21-yard field goal, which K Ka’imi Fairbairn nails. 7-3 Bengals

0:00 — CB Vernon Hargreaves commits pass interference against Green on third-and-3 from the Cincinnati 32. The penalty is just seven yards up to the Bengals’ 39.

Second quarter

13:39 — Allen completes a 9-yard pass to WR Tee Higgins on a third-and-7 from the Cincinnati 42-yard line.

11:34 — Allen completes a 7-yard pass to WR Alex Erickson on a third-and-4 from the Houston 43.

10:14 — Houston finally gets the Bengals off the field on a third-and-5 from the Texans’ 31. Crossen again has great coverage on Green and forces a drop.

10:10 — K Austin Seibert misses a 49-yard field goal.

8:13 — LG Brent Qvale is down being tended to by trainers. LT Laremy Tunsil is already in the blue medical tent.

7:46 — On a third-and-5 from the Cincinnati 42, Watson’s pass is tipped and falls incomplete.

3:30 — Seibert nails a 33-yard field goal. Bengals 10-3

3:30 — LT Laremy Tunsil is questionable to return with a foot injury. Also Qvale is being evaluated for a concussion.

1:54 — Watson throws a 25-yard touchdown pass to WR Brandin Cooks. Extra point is good. 10-10

0:27 — Houston can’t convert on a third-and-4 from the Houston 49-yard line. It wouldn’t have mattered anyhow as the Texans committed illegal formation.

Halftime

Texans

Watson: 11/19, 166 yards, TD; 2 carries, 5 yards

David Johnson: 4 carries, 19 yards; 1 catch, 12 yards

Cooks: 5 catches, 115 yards, TD

 

Bengals

Allen: 16/22, 188 yards, TD

Perine: 5 carries, 20 yards; 2 catches, 23 yards

Bernard: 7 carries, 16 yards; 6 catches, 60 yards

Green: 2 catches, 38 yards

Third quarter

12:59 — Perine breaks two tackles for a 46-yard touchdown run. Extra point is good. Bengals 17-10

9:09 — Johnson rushes for a 4-yard touchdown. Extra point is good. 17-17

5:53 — Allen throws a 20-yard touchdown pass to Higgins. Extra point is good. 24-17 Bengals

5:09 — Johnson rushes for 48 yards up to the Bengals’ 14-yard line.

 

Pregame

WHEN: 12:00 p.m. CT

WHERE: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

FORECAST: Partly cloudy, 68 degrees, 11 mph winds (indoors)

FOLLOW: @therealmarklane, @thetexanswire

LISTEN: Sports Radio 610 [KILT-AM] and 100.3 The Bull [KLOL]

WATCH: FOX (Chris Myers & Greg Jennings)

Source: 506 Sports

 

10. Quarterbacks who have not thrown red zone picks

Deshaun Watson is one of 10 quarterbacks this season with at least 20 red zone passes who has not yet thrown an interception. If Watson can keep it up and not provide any giveaways in the red area, Houston should be on the path to victory.

 

9. The Bengals’ rank for average starting field position

Cincinnati starts drives at their own 28.1-yard line, tied with the Green Bay Packers for the ninth-most in the NFL. If the Texans play straight up football with Cincinnati and don’t provide them with any freebies, Houston should be able to choke out the Bengals.

 

8. Houston’s takeaways

The Texans have procured eight takeaways through 14 games, and are on pace for the fewest in franchise history. Houston no doubt is last in the league in turnovers. If the Texans want to win, they will need to get into double digits Sunday.

 

7. Cincinnati’s rank for yards per carry

The Bengals give up 4.6 yards per carry, tied with four other teams for the seventh-most in the NFL. If there was ever a time the Texans could get the run game going in December, now would be the time.

 

6. Deshaun Watson’s interceptions

The former 2017 first-round pick has chucked just six interceptions on the season, and has been the driving force behind any success the Texans have had in 2020. If Watson plays a perfect game and doesn’t provide any giveaways for Cincinnati, the Bengals don’t stand a chance.

 

5. Jessie Bates’ rank for pass breakups

The Bengals safety has generated 15 pass breakups in 2020, tied with Jaylon Johnson for the fifth-most in the NFL. Bates is the one element on Cincinnati’s defense that has the ability to mess with Houston’s passing game.

 

4. Cincinnati’s rank for points per drive

Of course no one scores in the dimensions of 1.69 points per drive, but it is what the average of the Bengals’ points per game divided by drives per game comes to. Nevertheless the Bengals are the fourth-lowest in the NFL as a scoring team when broken down by drives. If Houston can activate their big-play offense, the Texans should outpace the Bengals.

 

3. Deshaun Watson’s rank for passing yards

The three-time Pro Bowler has the third-most passing yards in the league with 4,134. If Houston wants to win the game, they will saddle up Watson and let him sling his way to victory.

 

2. Zach Cunningham’s rank for combined tackles

Cunningham has been a tackling machine with 137 combined tackles in 2020. The former 2017 second-round pick will need to continue to play sound football and not allow Bengals ball carriers too much activity at the second level.

 

1. Houston’s rank for yards per carry

Texas’ two NFL teams are tied for the most yards per carry surrendered in the NFL at 5.0. Hand the ball off against the Texans’ defense on first down, and you may be facing a second-and-five. The Texans have to make Cincinnati pay on the ground.