An ugly win, but beauty is in another AFC South title
The Texans defeated Cincinnati 12-10 to win the AFC South in just about the ugliest fashion imaginable, but coach Bill O’Brien and his players will take old ugly over old nothing any day of the week.
Another outstanding performance by the NFL’s No. 1 defense and an excellent effort by the special teams overcame another offensive meltdown, but ultimately, the Texans pulled out a victory to win the AFC South for the second consecutive season and the fourth time in six years.
This game wasn’t decided until former Texans kicker Randy Bullock missed a 43-yard field goal with no time remaining, and the Texans and their fans celebrated wildly. They probably felt an overwhelming sense of relief considering how close they came to losing.
The Texans surrendered 294 yards, including 60 rushing, and they sacked Andy Dalton three times — two by Whitney Mercilus.
Dalton finished 28-of-41 for 268 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
The Bengals had a chance to beat the Texans and force a winner-take-all game for the AFC South next Sunday in Nashville, but Bullock’s miss allowed the Texans to escape with the two-point victory.
This game turned out to be much more exciting than the first half, which was so bad it was a joke for a Texans offense that generated only 34 yards and trailed 3-0 at the break.
At halftime, the Texans had two first downs. They didn’t even get close enough to stink it up in the red zone. Defense dominates
If not for Romeo Crennel’s defense, the Texans would have been totally humiliated at halftime. Instead, they trailed 3-0 after Bullock connected on a 43yard field goal for the only points in the first two quarters.
The Texans benefited from not having to cover receiver A.J. Green (hamstring) and tight end Tyler Eifert (back). Dalton had to play again without his two favorite receivers, and it helped the Texans and hampered the Bengals.
For some reason, the Bengals’ game plan seemed to call for them to try to pick on cornerback A.J. Bouye. That seemed strange considering Bouye has been the Texans’ best defensive back this season and one of the most effec- tive corners in the NFL.
Like his teammates on defense, Bouye was outstanding for most of the game. This game should have been put away in the second half, but the offense was so miserable it had to settle for two short Novak field goals when it couldn’t convert in the red zone. As usual.
Another example of just how terrible the offense was came in the fourth quarter. The defense forced a turnover. The Bengals had gone to a hurry-up offense. Dalton threw high to rookie receiver Tyler Boyd, and the ball bounced off his hands. Safety Quintin Demps made a diving interception at the Bengals’ 40.
That was the Texans’ best starting field position of the game, but the offense was so horrendous it didn’t gain a yard. Arun for no gain by Alfred Blue and two Savage incompletions produced absolutely nothing.
The next time the Bengals got the ball, they started at their 7 when Shane Lechler backed them up. The only bad play the defense made came on a slant route by Brandon LaFell, a Houston native. One big play for Bengals
Dalton threw the slant to LaFell, who caught it going full speed, and he outran every Texan on the field for an 86-yard touchdown and a 10-6 lead with 10:45 left in the game.
That was the Bengals’ first touchdown in the fourth quarter in seven games. Until that touchdown, they’d scored a leagueworst 51 points in the quarter.
LaFell’s touchdown was the longest play of the season for the Bengals. And their biggest disappointment might be Bullock’s missed field goal with no time remaining on the clock.