Let's take a look at how the Bengals' roster stacks up against the Texans' prior to their matchup tonight on Monday Night Football. As a note, players who are doubtful or deemed out for the game are not included.
Quarterback
Andy Dalton | Brian Hoyer |
Andy Dalton has been having a career season. He has 18 passing touchdowns and only three interceptions. The most impressive part, however, is his 8.6 yards per passing attempt which ranks second in the league behind Carson Palmer (9.2). Outside of a rough game against the Steelers, Dalton has looked incredible. | Brian Hoyer started off the season as the starter, but that didn't last an entire game. He eventually took the job back and hasn't looked too bad in the role since. Hoyer has completed 60 percent of passes with 13 touchdowns and three interceptions in six games. |
Edge: Bengals
Although Hoyer might be better than most Bengals fans give him credit for, Dalton is still the easy choice. Dalton has had very few rough patches so far this season while Hoyer has been too up-and-down. Dalton has done more than enough to give the edge to the Bengals when it comes to the two team's quarterbacks.
Running Back
Bengals | Texans |
Even with Jeremy Hill's struggles, he still has six touchdowns on the season. His five rushing touchdowns has him tied at fourth in the league. Giovani Bernard has 511 yards rushing and a 5.6 yards per carry average. The two running backs together create quite the dynamic duo, combining or 1,045 total yards. | Without Arian Foster, the Texans are very thin at running back. Alfred Blue has a 3.7 yards per carry average this season, and he has been almost nonexistent in the passing game with just eight catches on the season. |
Edge: Bengals
Blue just isn't anywhere near the caliber of Hill and Bernard. Blue might have a better yards per carry average than Hill's 3.3, but Blue only has one touchdown on the season. Bernard has been far more efficient than Blue and that should continue tonight.
Wide Reciever
Bengals | Texans |
A.J. Green is having a great season, which is typical for him, but he has company this year. Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu have combined for 52 catches for 706 yards with four touchdowns. While Green is one of the best wide receivers in the league, the guys behind him are pretty talented in their own right and a huge part of the Bengals' success this season. | DeAndre Hopkins has officially arrived. He has 66 catches for 870 yards along with six touchdowns. He has easily gained his way into the top tier of wide receivers. The guys behind him though haven't played that much and are starting to get more action with the added attention Hopkins is receiving from defenses. Nate Washington and Cecil Shorts have both only played five games. While Washington's 411 yards and three touchdowns look nice on the stat sheet, he had 127 yards and two touchdowns in garbage time after the Dolphins stomped on the Texans. |
Edge: Bengals
While Hopkins is just arriving, Green has been here for awhile. When you add that with a slight edge in the supporting cast, the Bengals get the edge, but it is close.
Tight End
Bengals | Texans |
Tyler Eifert is a monster. Spoiler alert: not many tight ends are going to edge him out. His nine receiving touchdowns lead the entire NFL and the Bengals are using him effectively in the red zone and down the field. Stopping Eifert is not an easy task. | C.J. Fiedorowicz has 9 receptions and one touchdown. The Texans' other tight end, Ryan Griffin has been on injured reserve with the designation to return and tonight will be his first game back since originally getting injured. Griffin suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament during the Texans' season-opener. |
Edge: Bengals
Come on.
Offensive Line
Bengals | Texans |
The Bengals are widely considered to have one of the best lines in the NFL. It is important to note that they will be without Andre Smith for this game though. Without him last week, the Bengals still only gave up one sack. They have given up only 11 sacks his season, which is tied for the third fewest in the NFL. They also lead the way for the ninth ranked rushing attack. | The Texans aren't too far behind the Bengals statistically when it comes to the offensive line. They have only surrendered 17 sacks this season, but they've struggled to open up holes for their running backs as they have the 29th ranked rushing attack. |
Edge: Bengals
The Texans are pretty good at pass blocking, but their lack of production in run blocking gives the easy edge to the Bengals.
Defensive Line
Bengals | Texans |
You can't start talking about the Bengals' defensive line without mentioning Geno Atkins, and how it is unfair how good he is. The defensive line has 23 sacks so far this year, led by Carlos Dunlap's 8.5. They do allow the second worst yards per carry in the NFL though with 4.9. | The Texans have plenty of sacks, but quite a few come from players off the defensive line. J.J. Watt leads the group with 8.5. The line as a whole has 10.5. They also however struggle plugging up the run giving up 4.4 yards per rush attempt. Watt carries this group, but the Bengals are much more well-rounded. |
Edge: Bengals
Watt is very talented, but so is Atkins. I'd still put Watt slightly ahead of Atkins if I had to rank the two, but the rest of the Bengals' defensive line has been far more productive than the Texans.
Linebacker
Bengals | Texans |
Vincent Rey has been one of the biggest constants in this linebacking core. He leads the league in tackles, and has been solid in the run and pass, but with Vontaze Burfict back, the line backing core gets quite the upgrade. | Since the Texans run a 3-4 defense, they're outside linebackers rush the passer quite a bit more than 4-3 linebackers. Whitney Mercilus has 5.5 sacks on the year and has been fairly impressive in relief of Jadeveon Clowney, who won't be playing on Monday. Brian Cushing has piled up the tackles this season, but hasn't really helped stop the run or pass. In other words he is a pretty overrated player right now in the NFL. |
Edge: Bengals
Outside of Burfict, neither team has a very good linebacking core.
Secondary
Bengals | Texans |
The Bengals boast a very good secondary. Adam Jones has been playing great this season, and Leon Hall is one of the best nickel cornerbacks in the NFL. Along with the Reggie Nelson and George Iloka tandem at safety, the Bengals' secondary is strong. Dre Kirkpatrick has been inconsistent as he gives up a few big plays in seemingly every game. Still, he has been solid most of the time. The Bengals give up only 10.5 yards per passing attempt, tied for third in the league, and have given up only 10 touchdowns through the air. |
Former Bengals cornerback, Johnathan Joseph, leads the Texans' secondary. He has the third most tackles on the team as well. Kareem Jackson, the usual second corner, will be out against the Bengals in this matchup. The Texans give up 11.6 yards per passing attempt and 16 passing touchdowns on the year. |
Edge: Bengals
The stats suggest the secondaries are fairly even when it comes to statistics, but they still favor the Bengals. The Texans not having Jackson also hurts them this week against the Bengals.