Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals - 9/14/17 NFL Pick, Odds, and Prediction

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Houston is coming off a 2016 in which they went 9-7 and finished first in the AFC South. The Texans won the Wild Card Game 27-14 versus the Raiders, but lost in the Divisional Round to the eventual champion Patriots 34-16. 

Over on the Bengals’ side, they’re currently 0-1 as well after their 20-0 shutout defeat at the hands of the Ravens. Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton finished 16-of-31 in that one, throwing for 170 yards and four interceptions. Dalton had a total of five turnovers on the day including his fumble. 

Cincinnati managed to go 6-9-1 last season, which left them in third place in the AFC North. It was a regression from their 12-4 campaign in 2015, and Cincinnati missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010. 

The Texans are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games in Week 2, and 1-5 ATS in their last six games overall. Houston is also 1-5 ATS in their last six versus the AFC and 0-7 ATS in their last seven Thursday games. 

Meanwhile, the Bengals are 6-1-1 ATS in their last eight games in Week 2, and 4-1 ATS in their last five versus a team with a losing record. Cincinnati is also 18-7-2 in their last 27 games in September, and they’re 4-1 ATS int heir last five home games versus a team with a losing road record. 

Both Cincinnati and Houston need a fresh turnaround this week after some pretty abysmal performances in the opening week. The Texans were bad on both sides of the ball, and need to get into shape in a hurry if they want to contend for the division. As for the Bengals, their No. 1 problem this past week was Dalton, who is enough of a veteran that he should have his act cleaned up here. I think the familiar surroundings will do the Bengals some good here so I’ll take Cincinnati to cover.