The Cincinnati Bengals and Houston Texans will meet up in the playoffs tomorrow in Texas.  The Bengals have won two of their last three games, but they lost last weekend against the Ravens in Cincy.  The Texans limp into the playoffs having lost their last three games of the regular season.  The Texans won the earlier matchup of these teams 20-19 in Cincinnati just four weeks ago.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are likely going to try to be balanced in this game offensively.  The Texans are only giving up 96.0 yards rushing per game, but 4.1 yards per carry…..so Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott might be somewhat effective in this game.  The Bengals need to establish a running game or they could be in trouble.  The Bengals’ O-Line has been really solid pass blocking as Bengals’ QBs have only been sacked 25 times so far this year.  But, they will have a challenge on their hands as OLBs Connor Barwin (11.5 sacks) and Brooks Reed (6 sacks) love to blitz.  Former Bengals’ CB Johnathon Joseph will likely be locked up on WR A.J. Green.  That won’t stop Dalton from throwing to him though.  TE Jermaine Gresham and WR Jerome Simpson will likely be facing single coverage most of the day tomorrow, so don’t be surprised if one of those guys have a good game.  Opposing QBs only have a 69.0 QB Rating against the Texans, so Dalton is going to have to be careful tomorrow.

When the Texans have the ball:  The Texans have the best 1-2 punch at RB in the NFL in Arian Foster and Ben Tate.  The Texans are averaging 153.0 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry so far this year, so Foster and Tate are going to be a big challenge for the front seven of the Bengals.  The Bengals played pretty solid run D until last weekend when Ray Rice torched them.  If the Texans get a good running game going, look for rookie QB T.J. Yates to have plenty of time to throw the ball.  If the Bengals slow down their running game, look for them to be blitzing heavily in this game on passing downs.  Yates is going to have most of his regular weapons back in this game, including gamebreaking WR Andre Johnson.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 23, BENGALS 16

The Bengals control their own destiny tomorrow against the Ravens as they will win a wild card spot in the playoffs with a win.  The Bengals have won two games in a row.  The Ravens have won five of their last six games and they also have something to play for tomorrow.  If they win the game, they will win the AFC North and get the #2 seed and a bye in the first round of the playoffs.  If they lose and the Steelers beat the Browns in Cleveland, then the Ravens will be the #5 seed in the playoffs and they would play the winner of the AFC West.  The Ravens beat the Bengals 31-24 in Baltimore earlier this year.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are likely going to come out running the ball with Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott.  They are going to have to work hard for every yard they get as the Ravens are only giving up 91.8 yards rushing per game and 3.5 yards per carry so far this year.  The O-Line is going to have to protect Andy Dalton good in this game, if they are going to be able to make plays in the passing game.  That won’t be easy as OLB Terrell Suggs (13 sacks) and the Ravens (47 sacks this year) love to put pressure on the QB.  Andy Dalton has a lot of poise and he’s a gunslinger, so look for him to challenge a solid Ravens’ secondary tomorrow.  A.J. Green, Jerome Simpson and Jermaine Gresham are going to have to step up and have good games if the Bengals are going to win this game.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens are going to try to feed the ball to Ray Rice.  When he’s effective, they win.  When they get away from the running game, they lose.  The Bengals will aim to gang up on Ray Rice and put all the pressure on Joe Flacco to beat them with his right arm.  The Bengals get a good pass rush from their defensive line, which will help them cover zones with the linebackers in the passing game.  The Bengals probably need to double team Torrey Smith, who torched them for 165 yards on 7 catches in the first meeting between these teams.  That would force Flacco to beat them by throwing to someone else.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 20, BENGALS 17

The Bengals are trying to get into the playoffs, but they have been going backwards lately, losing four of their last six games.  The Cardinals on the other hand have won four games in a row and 6 of their last 7 games.  They are also trying to surge into the playoffs.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are going to try to stay balanced offensively in this game.  Cedric Benson will likely have a heavy workload against a Cardinals’ D that is allowing 117.4 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry so far this year.  The O-Line is going to have to keep Andy Dalton clean if he’s going to be able to make some throws down the field.  WR A.J. Green routinely beats double teams and he is likely going to have a lot of attention from the Cardinals’ corners and safeties tomorrow.  If they give Green too much attention, Dalton will just check down and get the ball to Jermaine Gresham, Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson.

When the Cardinals have the ball:  The Cardinals are likely to come out throwing the ball against the Bengals tomorrow.  The Bengals will need to get to the QB, and Cardinals’ QB have been sacked 47 times already this year.  Cardinals’ QB John Skelton is a very confident gunslinger, but that sometimes gets him into trouble.  The Bengals are hoping to get a couple of pickoffs as they will be giving help over the top against Larry Fitzgerald.  If Skelton can beat the Bengals by throwing the ball to Todd Heap, Early Doucet and Andre Roberts….so be it.  The Bengals will also have to be ready to stop RB Beanie Wells as he will likely be jacked about returning to Ohio.

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 20, CARDINALS 17

The Bengals have lost four of their last five games, so they need to right the ship if they are going to have any hope of securing a Wild Card spot in the playoffs.  The Rams have lost four games in a row by a combined score of 103-40!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are likely going to be balanced on offense tomorrow.  They are going to give Cedric Benson a heavy workload tomorrow against a Rams’ D that is giving up 156.8 yards rushing and 5.0 yards per carry.  The Rams aren’t that good on pass defense either so Andy Dalton should have a decent game throwing the ball.  A.J. Green, Jerome Simpson and Jermaine Gresham are in line to have solid games for the Bengals tomorrow.

When the Rams have the ball:  The Rams are likely going to start Kellen Clemens at QB tomorrow, so look for them to rely on RB Steven Jackson.  Jackson is a good runner and receiver out of the backfield, but the Bengals are going to be keying on him and they have a good run defense.  The Bengals will try to force Kellen Clemens to beat them with his right arm.  The Bengals will get after Clemens, trying to force him into making some mistakes.  The Bengals will likely double cover Brandon Lloyd and dare the Rams to beat them by throwing to someone else.

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 23, RAMS 10

The Bengals are starting to fade fast as they have lost three of their last four games.  They are now 1-5 against teams over .500 this year.  The Texans have won six games in a row as they are rolling along right now.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are likely going to try to be run heavy this weekend in an attempt to protect rookie QB Andy Dalton a little bit, as he has struggled lately.  Cedric Benson is likely in for a heavy workload against a Texans’ D that is allowing only 90.7 yards rushing per game, but 4.2 yards per carry.  The Texans have 35 sacks and 17 interceptions so far this year as their defense has been awesome against the pass.  The Texans will likely give safety help over the top on A.J. Green, so he could have a long day.  The good news is the TE Jermaine Gresham, WR Jerome Simpson and WR Andre Caldwell will likely have one on one matchups all over the field.

When the Texans have the ball:  The Bengals have a sturdy run defense as they are only allowing 96.3 yards rushing per game and 3.6 yards per carry so far this year.  They are going to go all out to stop RBs Arian Foster and Ben Tate in an attempt to put pressure on rookie QB T.J. Yates and his right arm.  WR Jacoby Jones will be taking over at WR for Andre Johnson (hamstring) and he’s a deep threat, but he’s not too consistent.  TEs Joel Dreessen, Owen Daniels, RB Arian Foster and WR Kevin Walter are the other guys Yates will be throwing to and none of them scare the Bengals’ D.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 17, BENGALS 10

The Cincinnati Bengals bounced back last weekend against the Browns, after losing tough games to the Ravens and Steelers the two previous weeks.  The Steelers have won two games in a row and six of their last 7 games.  The Steelers beat the Bengals three weeks ago in Cincinnati.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are probably going to try to remain balanced on offense against the Steelers this weekend in Pittsburgh.  Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott will be trying to power through the Steelers’ offense in this game.  The Steelers’ are giving up 96.3 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry so far this year, so the Bengals might have success if they stick with the running game.  Andy Dalton should be able to attack the Steelers down the field as long as he has time to throw the ball.  The Bengals’ O-Line has been pretty solid so far this year as Bengals’ QBs have only been sacked 17 times so far this year.  WR A.J. Green is back healthy for this game, which will give the Bengals the gamebreaking WR they might need this weekend.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Bengals’ front seven should be able to handle the vastly overrated Rashard Mendenhall this Sunday in Pittsburgh.  The Bengals are only giving up 92.7 yards rushing per game and 3.5 yards per carry so far this year.  Ben Roethlisberger looked shaky last week with his broken thumb and he got it dinged in practice again.  Every time the Bengals get near him Sunday, they should be grabbing and slapping at his thumb.  His passes were sailing a lot last weekend, so the secondary is going to have a lot of shots to make big plays this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 23, STEELERS 20

The Bengals are looking to get back off the mat after losing their last two games to the Ravens and Steelers.  The Browns broke a 3-game losing streak in beating the Jaguars 14-10 last weekend.  The Bengals beat the Browns 27-17 in the season opener in Cleveland but they got lucky on some scoring plays in that game.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals didn’t throw well against the Browns, who have the #1 rated pass defense in the NFL as they are only giving up 166.5 yards passing per game so far this year.  With that in mind, look for the Bengals to be run heavy this weekend.  Cedric Benson is likely to have a very heavy workload against the Browns, who are giving up 139.3 yards passing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  WR A.J. Green will be back this weekend for the Bengals, but he was shut down pretty good by CB Joe Haden in the season opener.  Andy Dalton will also try to get the ball to Jerome Simpson, Andre Caldwell and Jermaine Gresham in this game.

When the Browns have the ball:  The Browns have been very predictable offensively this year as they very rarely throw the ball on first down.  So the Bengals’ front seven will have to be ready to deal with Montario Hardesty and Chris Ogbonnaya a lot on early downs.  They should be up to that challenge.  If the Browns were smart (and I doubt it), they would throw the ball deep a lot in this game.  For some reason, they don’t seem to trust Colt McCoy enough to let him do that.  Greg Little, Josh Cribbs and Mohamed Massaquoi all have the speed to get deep if McCoy has time to throw the ball.

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 23, BROWNS 13

The Bengals lost a tough one last weekend, 24-17 at home against the Steelers.  But, the Bengals are 4-1 on the road, so they will have a puncher’s chance this Sunday in Baltimore.  The Ravens are coming off a loss to the Seahawks on the road last Sunday, but they are 4-0 at home, where they have outscored their opponents 128-65.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  LB Ray Lewis is likely going to miss this game due to injury, which will allow the Bengals to try to establish a running game with Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott.  It still probably won’t be to easy to run the ball as the Ravens are only giving up 90.3 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry.  The Ravens have 27 sacks already this year and they have 8 interceptions, so Andy Dalton is going to have to get rid of the ball quickly, while still being careful with the ball and that isn’t always easy to do.  The Bengals might be without A.J. Green this weekend, so Jerome Simpson, Andre Caldwell and Jermaine Gresham are going to have to step up.

When the Ravens have the ball:  The Ravens are going to come out focusing on getting the ball in Ray Rice’s hands both running the ball and catching it out of the backfield.  The Bengals have a great run defense as they are allowing only 86.8 yards rushing per game and 3.4 yards per carry so far this year.  Without Leon Hall (done for the year due to injury), the Bengals are going to need Kelly Jennings or Adam Jones to step up at corner opposite of Nate Clements.  WRs Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith are going to be hard to handle for the Bengals’ secondary.  Joe Flacco has also started to throw to his TEs (Ed Dickson and Dennis Pitta) a lot more as of late.  The Bengals have 25 sacks and they are going to get after Flacco in an effort to force him into making the big mistake.

PREDICTION:  RAVENS 23, BENGALS 20

The Bengals have won five games in a row.  But, the only team with a winning record that they have beaten so far this year is the Buffalo Bills.  The Steelers are only 1-3 against teams with winning records so far this year and the Patriots are the only team they have beat with a winning record.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are going to try to run the ball on the Steelers with Cedric Benson.  This would allow them to control the clock and slow the Steelers’ pass rush a little bit.  The Steelers only have 2 interceptions so far this year, so Andy Dalton should be able to make throws down the field as long as the offensive line gives him time to do so.  The Bengals’ O-Line has only allowed 13 sacks so far this year, while the Steelers have 23 sacks….so something has to give.  WRs A.J. Green and Jerome Simpson are going to be serious threats down the field to the Steelers’ slightly overrated secondary.

When the Steelers have the ball:  The Bengals should be able to stop Rashard Mendenhall, as they are only giving up 84.5 yards rushing per game and 3.3 yards per carry.  But, dealing with Ben Roethlisberger and his receivers is going to be quite a bit harder.  The Bengals have 20 sacks this year and Roethlisberger has been sacked 26 times this year, so they should be able to get to him.  The Bengals must crack him hard early in the game and get him on the ground, so that he can’t buy time get the ball down the field.  The Bengals’ corners are going to have to step up to deal with speedy WRs Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown of the Steelers this Sunday.

PREDICTION:  STEELERS 27, BENGALS 17

The Bengals have won 4 games in a row and they are 3-1 on the road this year.  The Titans are 3-1 at home this year and they are coming off a 27-10 home win over the Colts last weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are likely going to feed the ball to Cedric Benson in this game against a Titans’ D that is allowing 129.3 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  Benson might not break a lot of big runs tomorrow, but he will likely get a consistent 3-4 yards per carry.  The Titans don’t have much of a pass rush (13 sacks this year), so Andy Dalton should have plenty of time to throw the ball.  A.J. Green, Jerome Simpson and TE Donald Lee will probably be his top targets in the passing game tomorrow.

When the Titans have the ball:  The Titans have become a pass first team this year.  The Bengals are going to have to get a good pass rush on Matt Hasselbeck, or he’s going to face little resistance from the Bengals’ secondary, as they are giving up 212.0 yards passing per game this year.  Nate Washington is Hasselbeck’s favorite WR right now, but younger guys like TE Jared Cook, WR Damian Williams and WR Lavelle Hawkins are starting to earn his trust.  The Bengals are only giving up 85.4 yards rushing and 3.3 yards per carry, so it’s unlikely that this will be Chris Johnson’s breakout game.  Javon Ringer has been splitting carries with him lately.

PREDICTION:  TITANS 21, BENGALS 20