Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals – Game Pick
The NFL regular season enters week 2 on Thursday night with the Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals. Here is my pick on the game.
Why the Texans can win
The Houston Texans were obviously distracted in week one when they took on the Jacksonville Jaguars at home. Yes, the Jaguars are an improved team but three touchdowns better? No. So the Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals will show us a better example of who the Texans are.
This is a road game for the Houston Texans and that’s probably the best thing for them. I’m sure they’d rather be in Houston helping a community that could use the support. But if they are to concentrate on winning football games, then the farther away from Houston they get the better.
It will allow them to focus on the task at hand and I think their performance will improve because of this. The Houston Texans also needed to get some clarity on their quarterback situation. Reportedly, head coach Bill O’Brien will start rookie Deshaun Watson at quarterback.
Tom Savage won the job in training camp but when the bright lights came on and it was time to be the man, Savage was a deer in those lights. Deshaun Watson might not be ready to the start, but ready or not the Texans will look to him to take the reins.
Watson will struggle some. All rookies do. But Deshaun Watson has shown that he’s not afraid of the big moments. The Texans need someone who can step in and give some confidence to the team, more so than anything else and Watson can do that.
Last season the Houston Texans went 9-7 and won the AFC South with an inconsistent Brock Osweiler at quarterback. So if the Texans defense can return to a high level of play, then there’s no reason they can’t beat the Cincinnati Bengals with a rookie at quarterback.
In the event that Watson’s tweaked ankle forces him from the game, I actually think Tom Savage will improve over his week one debacle. There’s a reason O’Brien made him a starter and he could be a solid option off the bench if the Texans had to turn to him.