Bengals 4 Point Favorites Over Texans

NFL News - October 13th, 2009 - Written by Scott

A great AFC matchup is set for Sunday as the Houston Texans travel to play the Cincinnati Bengals at 1:00. Houston is coming off a devastating 28-21 loss to Arizona in Week 5. The Texans (2-3) had the ball with under a minute remaining at the Cardinals 1 yard line and failed to convert on three rushing attempts. The Bengals will enter Sunday's game after an emotional win over Baltimore on a touchdown pass by quarterback Carson Palmer with 22 seconds to give Cincinnati a 17-14 win over the Ravens and improve their record to 4-1. The win gave them sole possession of first place in the AFC North.

Houston's offense will look to solve their short yardage struggles that have plagued them all season. Failure to convert on short yardage downs has proven costly for the Texans. They are getting nice play from quarterback Matt Schaub. He has passed for 1,418 yards and 10 touchdowns. Steve Slaton has led a rushing attack that has been less than stellar this year. They have only 2 rushing touchdowns as a team all year. Slaton has rushed for 231 yards and 1 touchdown. In an offense that is averaging 23 points and 363 yards per game, wide receiver Andre Johnson has proven to be Shaub's favorite target. He has 437 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns.

Defensively, the Texans have struggled against the run this year (140 yards per game) and will now face the league's leading rusher in Cedric Benson. The defensive front has not produced as expected and have recorded only 6 sacks this year. They also have forced 8 turnovers this year, 3 interceptions and recovered 5 fumbles.

Cincinnati's offense has played consistent football all season. They haven't gotten the statistics expected from quarterback Carson Palmer this year, but he has played well enough to lead them to a 4-1 record. He has passed for 1,116 yards and 7 touchdowns, but has 6 interceptions on the year. After Benson's 120 yard effort on Sunday, he surpassed Adrian Peterson as the league's leading rusher. He has 487 yards on the ground and 3 touchdowns. Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco leads a talented group of receivers and has 352 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns.

They defensive front for the Bengals has shown the kind of play they expected. They are allowing only 98 yards per game on the ground and have recorded 14 sacks so far this season. The Bengals are also only giving up 18 points per games, which ranks 9th in the NFL.

Cincinnati will be favored by 4 over the visiting Houston Texans according to Betus Sportsbook. The over/under for this game is at 45. You can find Week 6 NFL Betting Odds at BetUS Sportsbook and other Onlien Sportsbooks that accept USA Players.

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