Advanced analytics also show that the Texans have been lucky to win 12 games this season. Football Outsiders’ invaluable DVOA rankings show Houston as just the tenth-best team in the league, and only 13th in Weighted DVOA (adjusted to add weight to more recent games). According to the latter metric, the Bengals actually rank 7th in the NFL, which is not surprising considering Cincinnati has won six of its last seven, most of those in impressive fashion.
The Bengals will still be underdogs against the Texans, no doubt about it. But a playoff visit to the Lone Star State, rather than up to the land of chowdah, sure would do wonders for Cincinnati’s chances of winning its first playoff game since 1991.
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I have rooted for the Bengals since I was six years old, which has included dressing up as Ken Anderson for Halloween, shedding real tears at the end of Super Bowl XXIII, and a general depression that lasted throughout most of the 1990s. It's great to see the team finally pointed in the right direction the last few years. Go Bengals!
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