The Bengals are looking to end 2016 on a high note while playing spoiler for potential playoff teams starting this Saturday in Houston. They’ll travel to Houston for a Christmas Eve primetime clash with the Texans, who need to win out in order to secure the AFC South crown.
At 8-6 overall, Houston just needs to beat Cincinnati this week and beat the 8-6 Titans next week to secure another division title, which would be their fourth in the past six seasons. That will be easier said than done for the Texans, especially with the Titans surging.
The 5-8-1 Bengals will miss the playoffs for the first time in six seasons after making it five-straight times coming into 2016. In each of the last two times they missed the playoffs (2008, 2010), they still managed to end their seasons on high notes that helped spark playoff berths the following seasons.
They also spoiled the playoff hopes of Washington in 2008 and San Diego in 2010 with upset wins in the final month of those seasons. That’s the same scenario Cincinnati is hoping plays out this year with Houston and/or Baltimore in Week 16.
Odds
The line for Bengals vs Texans has shifted dramatically throughout the week, and for good reason. Between A.J. Green, Vontaze Burfict, Tyler Eifert, Lamar Miller, Whitney Mercilus, and Clint Boling all being banged up and iffy for Saturday, both teams could be with critical players that would affect the outcome of the game.
The line opened with Houston as a 3-point favorite and was as high as 3.5, but it dropped to a pick ‘em on Thursday. It has remained there on Friday, and it could shift again depending on what the final injury reports for both teams say.
Here is a look at the recent betting odds for both teams, courtesy of Odds Shark.
- Houston is 1-4 against the spread in its last five games
- Houston is 6-1 straight up in its last seven games at home
- The total has gone under in 8 of Houston's last 11 games at home
- Houston is 7-1 against the spread in its last eight games when playing Cincinnati
- Houston is 6-1 straight up in its last seven games when playing Cincinnati
- The total has gone under in 6 of Houston's last eight games when playing Cincinnati
- Cincinnati is 4-10-2 against the spread in its last 16 games
- Cincinnati is 2-4-1 straight up in its last seven games
- The total has gone under in 5 of Cincinnati's last six games
- Cincinnati is 1-5-1 against the spread in its last seven games on the road
- Cincinnati is 1-5 straight up in its last six games on the road
- The total has gone under in 5 of Cincinnati's last six games on the road
Expert Picks
Just as the oddsmakers don’t seem confident siding with either team, the expert pickers across various websites are also split on who wins in Houston.
- At CBS Sports, three of their eight experts went with the Bengals.
- Over at ESPN, four of their nine experts think Cincinnati wins in Houston.
- At SB Nation, seven of their nine picks came in for Houston.
- At FOX Sports, their six-man crew had three picking the Texans and three siding with the Bengals.
- What If Sports projects a 22-20 Texans win.
- NFL Picks Watch, which takes into account all of the expert pickers across the internet, has Houston getting 64-percent of the picks at the time this post was published.
As you can tell, this is one of the harder games to pick in Week 16. Between all of the injuries and Houston starting a new quarterback in Tom Savage, just about any result on Saturday shouldn’t be a surprise.