The Cincinnati Bengals will play the Houston Texans in the first AFC Wild Card game of the weekend. The Bengals are underdogs in the game and that's part of the reason our Texans blog, Battle Red Blog, thinks Houston should win the game.
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.
Why the Texans will lose: Houston will lose if their zone run game is taken out of the equation by an athletic and quick Cincinnati front four. Gary Kubiak's offense is built being able to run the ball to open up those long play action passes. If there's no running game then there's no offense and the defense won't able to win it on their own.
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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.