Cincinnati Bengals (1-0) @ Houston Texans (0-1)
Sunday, September 20, 1:00 PM ET
This matchup not only has the potential to be one of the best games in Week 2, but we could be looking at a future playoff matchup as well.
The Houston Texans surprisingly lost a shootout in Week 1. To be clear, losing to the Buffalo Bills isn't a shocker -- that game felt like a toss-up on paper, and it ended up coming down to the wire. The surprising part of that game was the fact that Houston's defense was getting picked apart at all levels of the field by Josh Allen and the Bills's weapons.
Are the Bengals going to test that secondary in Week 2? And if they do, how quickly are they going to regret it, if at all?
Joe Burrow's leading receiver in Week 1 was Mike Gesicki, who finished the game with 78 yards on 5 catches. Ja'Marr Chase had just 12 yards on 2 receptions against the Buccaneers, so we know there's going to be a concerted effort from Zac Taylor to make sure Chase is more involved in the gameplan this coming week.
And that matchup between a couple of former LSU Tigers -- Ja'Marr Chase vs. Derek Stingley Jr. -- is going to be must-see TV.
The Texans showed some real signs of life offensively that we have been wanting to see from them for the past couple of seasons. Not that they've been incompetent on that side of the ball, obviously, but they were much more dynamic against Buffalo than we've seen.
How does the Houston defense -- and pass rush -- bounce back against one of the most explosive offenses in the game? This game feels like a toss-up on paper, and that's the way the oddsmakers see it as well. The Texans are just 3-point favorites at home.
Will they lose another close one on their home field to a possible AFC contender?
Prediction: Bengals win 24-23
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