InSpin

Cincinnati vs. Houston

The Bengals have a chance this weekend.  When you are 0-7, that means a lot. The winless Bengals travel to Houston to visit the Texans at Reliant Stadium this Sunday. The Texans are wrapping up a solid month at home after Hurricane Gustav skewed their schedule into three road games to start out the year. All told the month respite has been positive for Houston as they have gone 2-1, having won the last two in a row over Miami and Detroit. They could be 3-0 at home this season if they could have held on to that lead in their home opener October 5 against Indianapolis.

The Cincinnati Bengals have a chance in this game simply because they have trends on their side. No one since the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14) have gone winless and no one has gone 0-16, so odds are Cincinnati will get a victory at some point this season. And why not against Houston whom the Bengals are 3-0 against all time.

Of course trends do not play games and the reality of the situation is the Bengals are a banged up team.

Carson Palmer appears done for 2008. The All-Pro quarterback has missed two games, is out for Houston for sure and it looks as if IR is looming on the horizon. After a throttling at the hands of Pittsburgh 35-7, times may be getting tougher and not better for Cincinnati. If backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick will be taking over for the rest of the year, the Bengals offense line better give him more protection or he won’t be starting for very long either. The Steelers sack Fitzpatrick seven times last week. That increased the total to 15 in the four game Fitzpatrick has started. He was able to stay upright enough time to get the ball to Chad Johnson, who caught a season high eight passes and a touchdown last week, but his yards after catch were almost nonexistent, as he recored only 52 yards with those eight catches.

Until just a few weeks ago, the Houston Texans were also trying to find their first win. Three weeks later they are 2-4 and seeing a winnable game at home to go one step closer to .500. Many people saw the Texans as a sleeper in this year’s AFC until Gustav put a kink in their hopes. Houston is in last place and must not only win but hope division mates Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Tennessee start to falter. This may be a too tough of a request as two of those teams made last years’ postseason and the other is currently the NFL’s lone undefeated team. Nonetheless, Houston (2-4) got a little more confidence with their second straight win last week against Detroit and will do what they can do to get back in the AFC race.

InSpin.com