The Bengals are 8-0 on the season and will look to pick up another conference win against the Texans on Monday night. Houston is coming off a big divisional win against the Tennessee Titans, and will look to keep momentum rolling against the Bengals.
Quarterback Andy Dalton is having a huge season for the Bengals and is a big reason why they are off to an undefeated start this year. Dalton has thrown for 2,226 yards, with 18 touchdowns to four interceptions. Head coach Marvin Lewis will balance their running and passing attack on Monday, as he will want to keep the Texans guessing.
Bengals running back Giovani Bernard leads the team in rushing with 511 yards, and is averaging 5.6 yards per carry. Lewis will get carries to both Bernard and running back Jeremy Hill, who has five rushing touchdowns on the season. While the Bengals offense has been playing really well this season, their defense is one of the best in the league.
Defensive linemen Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins have been pressuring quarterbacks all season, and will look to continue to create havoc for the Texans offense Monday night. Dunlap has 8.5 sacks this season, and Atkins has six on the year. They will both look to get after Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer all night.
Hoyer has played well as of recently, throwing for 235 yards and two touchdowns against the Tennessee Titans in their last game. Houston head coach Bill O'Brien will try to establish a strong ground game to take pressure off his quarterback. Running back Alfred Blue leads the Texans in rushing yards with 273 yards this season, but has only found the endzone once.
The Bengals strength is in their defense, but the same could be said for the Texans. J.J. Watt is the leader of this defense and is second on the team in tackles with 40 total this season. He was the defensive player of the year in 2014, and can disrupt a quarterback's and offense's whole game plan. The Texans defensive end has 8.5 sacks on the season, and will try to get after Dalton all night.
The Texans are only 3-5 on the season, but are very much alive in a weak AFC South division. Cincinnati will try to continue their undefeated streak, but the Texans would like nothing more than to hand the Bengals their first loss of the year.
The game starts at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, and you can watch the live broadcast here. To listen to the Bengals' radio broadcast, go here, and for the Texans' radio broadcast, click here.
