Texans vs. Bengals: AFC Wild Card Saturday Prediction

NFL Wild Card Weekend action kicks off with the first of two AFC playoff games now just hours away from the Lone Star State. AFC first round action hits the gridiron as the Houston Texans and Cincinnati Bengals battle to move on to the Divisional playoff round.

A win by the Texans sends them to Baltimore to face the Ravens. If the Bengals pull off a mild upset, they will head to New England to battle the Patriots in the Divisional Playoff round next weekend.

AFC Playoffs Bengals vs. Texans: Game Day Preview

This AFC Wild Card football betting action is slated for 4:30 PM ET on Saturday, January 7, 2012, from Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The winner rolls on down the NFL Playoff road, while the loser heads home. Neither of these teams were very good down the regular season stretch run.

Houston (10-6 Home: 5-3) was 10th in scoring during the NFL 2011 regular season with an average of 23.8 points per game. On defense, the Texans were 4th overall as they allowed 17.4 PPG. Houston went 11-5 ATS and just five of their 16 contests went OVER the game total.

After losing starting QB Matt Schaub, the Texans went 1-3 to close out the season. The loses were against the Colts, Panthers, and Titans, who had a 17-31 combined regular season record.

Cincinnati (9-7 Road: 5-3) behind rookie QB Andy Dalton, ranked 18th overall with an average of 21.5 points per game. On defense, the Bengals came in 9th allowing 20.2 PPG during the regular season. Cincinnati was 8-6-2 ATS and four of their 16 contests stayed UNDER the game total.

The Bengals stumbled a bit down the stretch but they were up against some pretty stiff competition. Cincinnati went 3-5 in the second half – including two loses to both the Steelers and Ravens.

>>> Bet On Wild Card Weekend Playoff Action At BetOnline <<<

AFC Wild Card Saturday Betting Lines: Cincinnati vs. Houston Free Pick

BetOnline.com provides our AFC Wild Card Saturday Houston vs. Cincinnati Free Pick betting odds. When it comes to sports wagering – trust the BetOnline Sportsbook to bring you more bang for your NFL and sports betting buck! We think  the better defense wins this contest.

NFL Week 14 regular season action saw the Texans register a 20-19 win over the Bengals. The win sealed the first ever AFC South Title for the Texans. Houston QB T.J. Yates, who was making his second career start, engineered an 80 yard game winning drive that was capped with a 6-yard TD pass with two ticks left on the game clock.

This is the first playoff game in the Texans ten year team history. The Bengals will line up for a franchise 15th postseason game. Their last playoff contest was a 24-14 loss to the Jets back during the 2009 Wild Card Weekend.

This is contest marks the first time in modern day NFL history that two rookie quarterbacks matched up against each other in a postseason playoff game. Both Dalton ad Yates are less than 100% with the flu and a shoulder injury respectively.

We see the Texans having the better running game, a better defense, and home field advantage, as the three key factors to this contest. Being as such, we’ll back Houston over Cincinnati in this one!

>>> Back HOU vs. CIN at -3 (-120) at BetOnline <<<

Stayed tuned as we present our Saints vs. Lions Free Pick on Friday