Official Texans @ Bengals Game Thread, 9/14/2017

[Arky]

The ensuing kickoff is brought back to the Bengal 31. Bengal's ball.

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Pass to LaFell gets 12.

Pass over the middle is broken up by Pleasant, inc. 2nd and 10 coming up.

Pass to Erickson gets 6.

Dalton pressured, throws it away, inc. 4th and 4 coming up. Bengals going for it.

Flags presnap, offsides Bengals, -5. Makes it 4th and 9.

Pass is too tall for Erickson, inc! Texans take over on downs!

1:08 left in the game.

[Arky]

False start on Davenport, -5. 1st and 15 coming up.

L Miller for 6. Bengals use a timeout (#2). 1:02 left in the game.

L Miller goes for 5. Bengals use their last timeout. 57 seconds left.

On 3rd and 4, L Miller loses a yard or two...... Texans letting the clock run before they punt.....Texans use a timeout with 12 seconds left.

Punt is returned to the Bengal 20. 2 seconds left in the game.

[Arky]

Bengals do the lateral thing until JJ decides to end the game!

Final score:

Texans 13, Bengals 9

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Well, OK. 1-1 is much better than 0-2.

[chuck]

Good win. Win one of these next ones that we're not supposed to and who knows.

[nunusguy]

Yea this Watson is a keeper, he sure didn't come cheep, but maybe he's finally the guy we've been looking for.
After that game last Sunday 500 doesn't look bad at all right now, we got new life tonight.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by chuck

Good win. Win one of these next ones that we're not supposed to and who knows.

You had to love Prosch in the 4th quarter when they kept the ball for 5 minutes and flipped the field and he made the Cincy LB corp quit.

Overall a gutsy and marginally effective effort from Watson. And marginally effective on a short week is enough to make you wonder how Tom Savage ever came out of training camp as the QB. Or why it took us 4 years to draft a guy with actual talent at QB.

Before the season I thought we'd have to win a lot of 12-7 games to be a winning team. I guess I undersold our offense since we got to 13.

Let's go beat NE.

[chuck]

Originally Posted by barrett

You had to love Prosch in the 4th quarter when they kept the ball for 5 minutes and flipped the field and he made the Cincy LB corp quit.

I DID love that, and I loved the split back formation. I'm not sure why it took seven ineffectual quarters to hit upon that esoteric strategy but there you go.

Why, they ran AND passed out of that formation! Imagine! Marvin Lewis must have been totally flummoxed!

I'll tell you another thing I liked, and that's the fact that JJo and Kevin Johnson were both out on the Bengals' last drive and it didn't look any different from what we saw in the, say, first quarter. If anything the piecemeal secondary they put together was the best one I've seen in like 18 months. I don't know who the hell those people were but they stood tf up.

[chuck]

Another thing I love - the team has a number of TE tryouts scheduled for some time in mid-October. Good work, boys, don't rush into anything.

The decision to keep Fairbairn was, so far at least, plainly the correct choice. The only thing that would be better is if he were left footed so his kickoffs would spin differently.

[chuck]

One last thing for today - as I've said and as many of you have observed, the Pats are eminently beatable. The Texans are not a good team, but I'm not sure the Pats are a good team either. I will be fascinated to see their game Sunday.

A great defense and a competent offense will beat the Patriots. It certainly doesn't appear that we have either, but you never know. Winning this game and then having a ton of time to regroup is huge. Both sides of the ball took some small steps today, small but significant.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by chuck

I DID love that, and I loved the split back formation. I'm not sure why it took seven ineffectual quarters to hit upon that esoteric strategy but there you go.

Why, they ran AND passed out of that formation! Imagine! Marvin Lewis must have been totally flummoxed!

I'll tell you another thing I liked, and that's the fact that JJo and Kevin Johnson were both out on the Bengals' last drive and it didn't look any different from what we saw in the, say, first quarter. If anything the piecemeal secondary they put together was the best one I've seen in like 18 months. I don't know who the hell those people were but they stood tf up.

I'd prefer either Joseph or Johnson is healthy if it means Kareem Jackson is blowing guys up around the LOS instead of picking up holding calls downfield. He should be our starting safety.

[HPF Bob]

I work Thursday nights plus recapping Astros games so I DVR'd the Texans and tried to avoid the final score.

Watson turned one play into a touchdown that was the deciding factor. BTW, no way Tom Savage, bless his 4th-round white boy heart, is ever going to make that touchdown run, much less escape the pocket. That's why Watson, for all his rookie flaws, has to be our starter.

If O'Brien ever writes a book, the title will be "How To Win a ****************ing Division in The ******** NFL Without a ****************ing Quarterback or a ******** Offensive Line." - Foreward by Romeo Crennel.

It was nice to see Watt and Clowney both making plays in the same game although WTF is Clowney doing in pass coverage half the night? That isn't why we're paying him the equivalent of the Clinton Foundation bankroll to cover backs in the flat.

Anyway, good win. Enjoyed the Color Rush uniforms that made us look like Texas Tech.

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

It was nice to see Watt and Clowney both making plays in the same game although WTF is Clowney doing in pass coverage half the night? That isn't why we're paying him the equivalent of the Clinton Foundation bankroll to cover backs in the flat.

Last years defensive coordinator went back and forth between having Clowney standing up & his hand in the dirt and finally realized what we all knew was that he's a DE not a LB and then his season really took off.
Maybe Vrabel has to go thru the same learning curve this year or maybe it's the price they think has to be paid with JJ Watt back in the lineup.
Speaking of linebackers covering receivers it looks like in Zack Cunningham we've finally got the first good at that since Connor Barwin was with the Texans.

[Arky]

Early line for Texans vs Patriots started off New England -12 and is now up to New England -14 in some places.....