Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - AFC FIGHT Bengals vs Texans: Joe Burrow and CJ Stroud Must Overcome Pressure

Episode Date: September 17, 2026

The Cincinnati Bengals won their season opener but now they must travel to Houston to take on the Texans and their powerful defense. Joe Burrow has a sore back and Ja'Marr Chase is coming off a disappointing game but that Texans defense just got torched by Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills last week.In this Locked On Network crossover episode, Joe Goodberry chats with the Locked On Texans about the game's biggest stories, match ups and what each team must do to secure the win on Sunday. Photo Credit: Sam GreeneEverydayer ClubThe improved Everydayer Club brings you access to ad-free audio, the Subtext insider club where you can text Jake and Joe and get Bengals updates in your text messages, and Joe Goodberry's members-only Discord with over 1000 other Bengals fans—all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more: https://lockedonbengals.supercast.com/Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Butcher BoxIf you're looking for an easier way to get great meals on the table, give ButcherBox a try.Go to https://ButcherBox.com/LOCKEDONNFL to get $20 off your first box, plus your choice of free ribeye, new york strip, or filet mignon in every box for a year — with free shipping always.Fabletics Shop now at https://Fabletics.com/LOCKEDONNFL to get 70-80% off everything when you sign up as a new VIP. Take a quick style quiz and be sure to select LOCKEDONNFL when prompted to unlock this offer. This is a limited-time offer, so don’t wait.  Bask & Lather Explore viral bestsellers and products of healthier hair of ALL types from Bask and Lather. Go to https://baskandlatherco.com and use code LOCKEDON for 20% off. AuraAura helps protect your personal information by actively removing your data from data broker sites and keeping it off. Start your free trial today at http://aura.com/aware.IndeedListeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast.PrizePicksVisit https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFL and use code LOCKEDONNFL and get $150 if you win your first $5 lineup!KALSHIToday's episode is brought to you by Kalshi. For a limited time, Download Kalshi and use code Locked On to get $25 when you trade $25. Kalshi. Trade what’s next.  GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelGet three hundred fifty dollars in Bonus Bets — GUARANTEED — when you bet five dollars every day for seven days. Join all the action at https://FANDUEL.COMFANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this crossover episode of the Locked on Texans and Locked on Bengals podcast, can the Texans get back in the win column? And can the Bengals go to 2-0 knocking down an AFC rival potentially here, sending them to Owen 2? Locked-on NFL crossover, part of the Lopped-on podcast network. Your team every day. Welcome to this crossover episode of the Locked-on Texans and Locked on Beagles podcast, your teams every day.

Lots of talk out, game predictions. biggest storylines, key matchups, and I have a feeling. The key matchup is going to be either in the trenches or out on the edges of the offensive defense. Jamar Chase is coming to town. You know, he's seen a lot of Derek Stingley in his player career, dating back to college. And also looking at the Cincinnati Bengals,

what do we need to know from a Texan perspective about the Bengals team in 2026? And vice versa. Houston, Texas. The talk of the town into this season, this defense was going to be great. 36 points allowed to Josh Allen. week one. Joe Burrow comes to town and we know that he's no slouch, especially when he's healthy.

So we're going to dive into all of that conversation as well. I'm your Texans credential media member and football analyst John Hickman. And I am here today with my guy. Joe, what's up, Joe? Man, doing great after the one and no start in Cincinnati. Things are feeling good. You know, the bucks aren't a slouch either. And we didn't know how that game would truly go. The Bengals typically start slow, but not this week. And, you know, they put up points, the defense, that's the big thing this whole offseason. Can the Bengals defense maybe not match the offense? But can it raise the level just a little bit?

Well, they caused a lot of chaos versus the bucks. And can that continue? I should say, though, one of the biggest storylines before we go too far is that Joe Burrow was limited in practice on Wednesday with a sore and tight back. He came to his press conference, his weekly press conference Wednesday and said, just sore, I'll be ready to go on Sunday. You got to talk about Nico Collins as well. He was limited at practice.

Today's episode is brought to you by Fandu'll get $350 and bonus bets guaranteed when you bet $5 every day for seven days. Join all of the action at Fanduil.com. Not big of storylines, man. Listen, for me, Joe, any offseason you got signed for my faith, Brian Cook, Jonathan Allen, you go get Dexter Lawrence. You spent a lot of money on that defense. And then we another season, four sacks for three. that you got on Baker Mayfield, a QBiard of 27.1. You held him to no touchdown interceptions,

but you also held that Buccaneers team to under 100 yards on the ground. Talk to me about this defense of Centsy. Yeah, they wanted to send waves. I think the big thing they wanted to do was go from just being a Trey Hendrickson-led pass rush where it's just him winning and nobody else. You know, Trey's a really good pass-rusher. We're going to miss him. But at the same time, being able to send eight or nine guys at you and have,

they're having full hockey rotations where it's, this is the first man line and then second man line comes in maybe six plays later. And then they may start with the second man line and go to the first man line and the final six plays of a drive. And it kept them fresh. It was really hot in Cincinnati. They said over 100 degrees on the field opening day. And you could see they wanted to take it easy and rotate these guys.

I really think they just wanted to say, hey, can this front, can this defense create chaos? And they did because there was a lot of mistakes. There were still some mistackles, things that plagued them last year. But at the same time, four sacks, four force fumbles, four fumble recoveries. You don't typically get all of them. You don't always, you know, it can be random. That ball bounces any direction. It saved a touchdown directly. Bengals didn't force a single punt on defense. But on two third downs, they got fumble recoveries. And on a second and 22, they got a fumble recovery off a sack. So they caused chaos. And they got the ball back to Joe Burrow in this offense and they were good. They were solid. They did what

they had to do. I think on the flip side was actually talking with Ed Ingramman, Evan Brown, today the Houston Tech starting center and right guard. They got some good players. Jonathan Allen, like I said, was added Dexter Lawrence and also some of the other guys met defensive friends. So I look at this as a great challenge, back-to-back weeks, good guys on the inside at the interior spots. This is a team that really wants to be able to establish to run early and effectively and consistent throughout the game.

And for the Texans, they had moments. They ended the game with 3.9 rush and yards per carry. They finish the game with over 120 yards on the ground and two tugs as well. So I think this is going to be a great matchup for both teams as the Cincinnati Bengals

continue to be dominant up front. And you got some older pieces next to Lawrence. a little bit older. Jonathan Allen, a little bit older, but those guys are very effective going up against, I think, some younger pieces in Keelan Rutgers, the Houston, Texans, rookie left guard,

and then also Ariontei Archer was going to come into his second year. For me, though, I think Houston does find some type of edge in having the players that have been in the league for a while. Brown, who's a little bit older at the right tackle spot, Evan Brown. Journeyman, he's been in the league about eight years now, and Ed Ingram, he's sort of a vet. those guys have some success in the league,

and that should spread to the entire offensive line. But it's going to be a battle in the trenches. One team is going to look to protect their quarterback here in Houston, and the other team is going to look to get it after the quarterback and make life essentially hell for CJ Stroud. I'm looking forward to that battle, but Joe Burrow, back tightness. That has to be, like you mentioned,

the biggest storyline, at least at this point in the way. And also, Jamar Chase, two catches, 12. yards. We've never seen that before. Let's talk about that as well. Yeah, that's right. And I was going to ask you about the offensive line for the Texas. I know they've done so much to try and, you know, get that thing in order from where it was a year and a half to two years ago. It was, yeah, it was real bad there. But I just watched the film. I thought they played well, especially at run block. And I thought, Evan Brown's always been a solid player at center's a guy I've liked. But I thought at Ingram, man, what a Ed Ingram and Keelan Rutledge,

both of them nasty. Dogs. Run block and on there. Yeah, they love it. They want to bury you. They got Dionne Walker on that one goal line touchdown. Walker's planted into the dirt. Ed Nergram's just walking off the side like, yeah, I didn't do nothing. Mokkela, I'm running crazy. He's like, going crazy. That was one of the best plays, Joe, and then on the 18-yard touchdown, where I got to give some shout out to Kastover, Houston's tight end.

He takes care of two defenders at the second level, but Ed Engel pulls on that play. And I mean, he absolutely popped a dude and it opened up the rush of me. That was the long touchdowns. That was an 18-yarder from David Montgomery where he cut off to the. I loved it. I loved it. And it's the attitude change and shift the Houston Texans have been seeking for several years now.

This is the first time where it feels like, oh, we finally see the vision that's been planted. So I think Woody Marks, David Montgomery and C.J. Stride would absolutely benefit from. Yeah, and I agree. It's nice to see it when it comes to fruition because I think we're experiencing that as Bengals fans, offensive lines starting to look good. Finally, it's been a longer rebuild than you guys have experienced. But we do feel good about it now. They brought back all five starters. Marius Mims is coming into his own as a breakout, right tackle, maybe all pro player. But with that offensive line comes more options to push the ball down the field, something they haven't been able to do as much lately. I thought the Bucks did a good job

of putting a lid on Jamar Chase. And if they want to send extra. attention that way, the Bengals are okay with that. Like, they want to flow the offense through Jamar, but at the same time, they have so many weapons that if you want to muddy that picture over there and make Burrow go to the other side and go to T. Higgins or go to Mike Kaseki, and even the auxiliary players around them and Chase Brown and Smajai-P-Rine in the backfield, Burrow is more than happy to go the other way and pepper the defense with those guys. And so it was a game where they didn't really get the ball to Jamar that often. They didn't try to force it ever. They were in a, for most of the game, a two-score lead and was just going through the motions and protecting that lead.

If they were down or if it was a shootout, I think those are games where they find a way and maybe force it to Jamar a little bit more. And this is maybe something we can expand upon, you know, in terms of key matches. But Houston will be down in R-a-to-a. He's placed on IR, so they promote Jamal Hill from the practice quality, bring over Kennedy Murray sign him to the practice squad. as you mentioned, they didn't force the ball to Jamar Chavez, but I look at the numbers here, eight catches 52 yards from the backfield. And so the ability to be where you are and discipline for Houston

to cover those guys out of the back field, I think that's something to look forward to. But I do want to talk about more of the biggest storylines, if you don't mind, Nico Collins, was limited in that practice. He's Houston's number one weapon, right? So they definitely need their guy. We got more Texans and Bengals talk on today's crossover. I'm Jake Lisco from the Lockdown Bengals podcast here to tell you today about Fabletics

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You can check it out at fabletics.com slash locked on NFL. You'll get 70 to 80% off everything as a new VIP. Jamar Chase having his own line for Fabletics is pretty cool, right? What happens when football is in the air, excuse me, but in football is finally back. And that means Sundays are about to get a whole lot more interesting. Every week brings new matchups, breakout players, big performances, and plenty of storylines. to follow. And if you like getting even more engaged with players and stats, you're watching, there's a new way to make game day more exciting. Prospects is out. It's bringing out its best

offer yet. Kickoff. New users can sign up to, can sign up and get up to $150 in lineups if they win their first $5 lineup. And prospect is now available nationwide. Right. And so for me, with prospects, you're building daily fantasy linos by choosing two to six years. and selecting more or less on their projected stats like passing yards, rushing yards, even fantasy scores. So as I pull up the prize pick app right now, let's take a look at Jamar Chase and what he's expected to do this week for the Cincinnati Bengals, especially coming in a week where he only had 12 yards.

We've never seen that before from a Jabbar Chase. He is currently sitting at 76 and a half yards. Do you want the more or do you want? the less. And if I'm a Bengals fan out there, I'm confident we're picking them more. So download out today and use code locked on NFL to get $150 instantly in lineups if you win your first $5 line up. Again, downpriced today. Use code locked on NFL to get $150 in lineups if you win your first $5 lineups. Prospect, run your game. So you're saying, get it back to talking to Texas. No, no, no, no, hey God, I'm going to stop you.

You say you're going to take the over if you're a Beggles fan on Jumar Chase. All right, but the Texans, you're taking the over or under? You're saying over 76 or under 76 as a Texans? Listen, if you want to win you some money and based on what was presented to us defensively, week one, I think this is a game. I'm not picking the Bengals to win, but I think this is a game where Jamar Chase kind of get back into the rhythm of things and gets over 76 yards. So I would take the more on that, Joe. I would.

I think that's a solid investment. And I think that's one of the matchups that everyone should be tuned into, right? Jamar Chase, Derek Stangley, there's a two, if not. Honestly, they could be the best players at their position. And like seeing that go against each other, guys have been practicing against each other since LSU days. That is fun. They should know each other inside and out. They should want to compete against each other.

I expect, and especially Jamar coming off that 12-yard game, I expect the Bengals are going to get them involved early and often. Yeah, and one thing that Texas fans kind of end you. from you guys, and this has nothing to do with biggest storylines or key matchups. But I think Texan fans envy the fact that not only you guys have Jamar Chase, but on the other side, they found a way to keep

T. Higgins. And it seems like for the Cincinnati Bengals, they find a way to draft an additional receiver to add to that room. And I thought it was going to be burden. That just didn't work out. I don't know where burden is now, but you guys are, you know, you guys,

you guys are able to find players that fit what the goal is. And I like Andrea. I can't pronounce his last thing right now. Andreiosovic. And he's been a good fit for you. Yeah. Adrio So he's been a good fit for you guys. And I think that's a part of key matchups for Houston where Reeb Blankenship was added in the

off season. And he also looked at Kamar Lasson on the side, Derek Singley, Jalen Petrie, can Bullock coming into the season this second. there was expected to be Houston Strong suit, right, strength for the team, not just a defense, but for the team. And in week one, they let Josh Allen and Don Kincaid and DJ Moore, his first game, and other guys just kind of go crazy. So what has it been with that group and that unit that has made them so dangerous?

Yeah, and you know, I think that you bring up a larger point, too, that if anyone ends up listening to this, that's not a Bengals or a Texans fan, and maybe you're Josh Allen, or, you know, a Ravens fan. Someone else, maybe even it's the Jaguars. Put weapons around your quarterback is all I can say. Keep drafting. Say it again, please. Can you know what I'm saying?

Like, everyone's like, you got one receiver. You're good. We don't need another receiver. They'll tell us sometimes. Like, are you crazy? Keep putting weapons around them. Put up points. I think, you know, to say like the Bengals shouldn't have paid T

because they should have paid an offense. They tried to draft offensive linemen. They just didn't hit. They tried to draft defensive players. They just didn't hit. Pay the guys you hit. hit. You draft two receivers that hit? Pay him. So, you know, I, I just think the Bengals did it the right way there and try to figure out the rest. Now, we'll see if it's successful. We'll see if they can

get back to the playoffs and make a run at the whole thing. But yeah, I do feel that when we go talk to fans of other teams or writers from other teams and analysts, they're like, man, you know what? This team is really lacking a number two weapon the way the Bengals do have in T. And not many teams do have that. So it's fair to bring up the Andre Yosevash players or the Dante Myers, who was the CFL player and Camp Star. They got him the ball twice. He made two guys miss, made big plays, one off a jet motion,

one off a little quick motion off right at the snap and hit him in the flats, made the corner miss, picked up 14 yards. Like having these players that can step up and then against the bucks, they just weren't hovering Mike Gaseki anymore. They put so much attention on T and Jammar that the seams were wide open for Gaseki

to keep exploiting that. So you're right. The Bengals have a lot of options. And with Joe Burrow, when you got a quarterback like that, he can make all those guys work and figure out what works best. So it is going to be the Texans, though, have, you're right. Reed Blankenship has been being picked on since he was with the Eagles.

So, like, I assume the Bengals are going to try and isolate that, maybe get Geseki on him after watching the way he couldn't really cover, Don't and Kincaid. But not to put that all on Reed Blankenship, but some other guys getting involved too as well. But Petrie, Stingley, Lasseter, that's as good of a trio at corner as you're going to find whether you call Petrie a corner or not Slot Guy. you know what I mean?

But that's as good as you will find. So it's going to be a tough matchup for the Bengals. But yeah, it's strength and strength there. And I think this is a week where, again, Jamar Chase is just a guy that is similar to Justin Jefferson. They are going to get their nose, right? But for Houston, what does that look like? And it could look like maybe 10 catches for 80 yards.

And I think they'll live with that because on that's just eight yards of catch. as to where coming off last week, they allowed 13 explosive plays on the ground and in the air, and I think on the air, excuse me, they allowed 11. So this is a secondary that wants to retool and refine themselves from week to week. Now, on the flip side of that, I look at Joe Burrow, right? And Joe Burrow is going to be facing shotgun, understanding, no matter what pistol formation. He's going to get eyes on 55 and 51. That's Will Anderson and Denier Hunter.

Last week, 2.54 yards, excuse me, not yards, 2.54 seconds in the pocket to throw. That was a time to throw. Was that by design to beat the bucket in his past fresh, or was he just taking me through that? And how did he, was he able to kind of have a good moment, good game, by also getting rid of the ball as quickly as he did? So Burrough typically gets the ball out within the top five quarterbacks

in the league. He's like, I don't want to say, compare this to Tom Brady, but then, you know, remember how Brady used to just back foot, bang, balls coming out. He knew what you're doing every single time, right? The Burrow operates very similarly. And early in the season, typically he's a little slower, so it was nice to see him getting that ball out. I will attribute some of that to the buck. So even last year, they had the third quickest release time against them on defense because Todd Bowles blitzed so much, right? That ball has to come out. He blitzed Burrow at 50% rate. So, like, they are going to do that. And you have to get the ball out quickly. So I think it's just the two of them together. Means Burrow was second

in the league this week and time to throw rate. So I don't know if you'll have to do that as fast against Texans, but because the pass rush is so good in Houston, they're going to have to probably get it out quickly. And I think that's the Texans defense starts with Will Anderson and Daniel Hunter. And the Bengals, they like their tackles, but I still feel like, you know, we're real high on a meriusman right now going year three at right tackle. But even that matchup is making us a little nervous like, all right, is he going to give up three, four, five pressures? And we're going to give up his first sack and nine games it'll be.

We're kind of feeling that from the Cincinnati side of, you know, we can't wait to see how good he's gotten, but this is a real test for him. So schematically, how has, I mean, maybe traditionally in a past or just what you've been able to see off week one, how has the Cincinnati Bengals been able to slow down pass rushes with the question of the offensive line play that they've had? So this week was they want all offseason, they wanted to get to more 12. personnel two tight end sets and get under center a little bit more kind of change up the picture they can't just stay in shotgun there was points like 2022 they're in shotgun 98% of their snaps they

don't do that anymore it's a higher split of 12 personnel it's a higher split of getting under center and the play action can slow down the pass rush a little bit if you got to read run or at least worry about it a little bit that will slow you down so that was a big thing uh for them week one and they were pretty successful at it. And when I watched the tape of the Bills and the Texans, it looked like the Bills put a lot of help and a lot of chip help on those ends. I expect the Bengals to do the same. And they had the guard coming over and hitting DeNeil Hunter on the one.

It was a lot. Yeah, they were a lot of attention. That's what they demand. Yeah, and this is where for Houston, obviously the secondary and their lack of play from Sunday has been a talk at a time. But when you have two guys that are commanding, triple and double teams, that leaves those detackles in one-on-one situation more times than not. And so I look at Cincinnati, you guys got Dillon Fairchild at the guard spot.

I forget who's at the other guard spot, but these are, Darden, Rosner, who's been in the league for some time now, these are one-on-situation, one-on-one situations where I feel like for the Texas detackles, it should play in their favor a little bit more. I'm not calling those guys, scrubs, anything like that. So no respect. But a Sheldon Rankings who's been a savvy vet, he should win some of these reps. Tommy Togia who finished his season, one of the better defensive tackle league, he should win some of these reps.

Mario Edwards should be able to win some of these reps because I think the more that they win their reps, guys, Bigel's fan out there, the more that's going to open up opportunities for Will or DeNiel to get going. And if that happens, you're looking at potential gang reps. I'm actually, this is my call to action. Houston's D-Tackles, get it done this week. I like it. I like that a lot. But yeah,

the Bengals aren't going to give you too many chances to do it, right? Because they get the ball out so quickly. Dalton Reisner last week against a Bucks interior where Kalagicansi had a pretty good game. Vita Vea and then Aishon Robinson. Dalton Reisner had one loss from PFF. He had a perfect pass protection day. Otherwise, no pressures, no sacks, no sacks allowed. Dalton Reisner did give up a couple pressures, no sacks.

So the one sack that was led up was charged to a tight end. Like I said, the Bengals aren't going to give you too many shots to have your ears pin back to rush on them. That's why when they give you opportunity, you got a season. Game predictions. Let's get it to some schools. Let's get it to some potential outcomes. More on today's crossover episode.

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Every week, check the Fanduil app to see what's waiting for you. I mean, rewarding. They're talking about a lot of rewards here. As Bengals fans, we're coming off a big win week one, and the rewards were plenty right away, especially with the reward they got for Dexter Lawrence and that preying way that 10th pick. instant gratification for giving that away and seeing the impact he made on the game. Make this your most rewarding season ever with Fandul. Visit Fandul.com to get started today.

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It's Indeed.com slash podcast right now to get that discount. Again, one time, indeed. Indy.ndy.com slash podcast. Need to hire? This is a job for Indyde. indeed sponsor jobs. All right, Joe. It's so funny, Joe Burrow and host of the Locked-On.

That's right. Well, we had, when Jake Browning was the backup quarterback, my co-hosts is Jake, and we had a lot of fun with Jake and Joe going back and forth. Have you been able to meet Joe Burrow in person? No, I have not. I never have. But, you know, from what I, from talking to people that do get there daily, yeah, he's got that serial killer kind of looking his eye.

Well, when you do what Joe has done in the eight-year span, you kind of have the right to do that. But we need to see Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals get back to the playoffs. I don't think this game will help them. I have Houston winning, but I do want to hear your game predictions. I'm going to score possible your outcome. What are you looking forward to out of this game? Yeah, I'm looking to see if the Bengals can run the ball,

maybe a little more effectively into the Bills did. Bill's had a couple splash runs, but overall I thought the Texans did a good job tamping them down. The Bengals will lean on it. They do believe in Chase Brown. They want to get these explosive runs going. They weren't really there last week. They had a couple over 10.

Very similar to how the Bill's run game looked. The Bengals had the same success. But I think they're going to lean on it a little bit more. They want to slow down the pass rush. I'm expecting that. And I'm really curious if the Bengals defense can continue to apply pressure. And if they can apply pressure to CJ Stroud, I thought he made a couple really nice plays off script moving in the pocket.

One he ran on. One, I think he hit Marlon Klein on the tight end with a pass. Those are C. J. Shroud, to me, when he goes off script, isn't when he's at best, right? He's that best when he's in rhythm, timing, and he can use his pinpoint accuracy to push the ball down field. If the Bengals can get pressure on this Texans offensive line and on C.J. Shrout, I think this could go their way.

But when I did a season prediction before the season, I did have this as a Texans win at home. I think it's hard when good teams like the Texans are that they, lose a game, they typically don't let it roll, right? It doesn't come to three games in a row. They usually bounce back, especially with two home games in a row. I feel like the Texans will, but it's about a three-point game. I'm expecting it to be close. I think the NFL is expecting it to be close.

Vegas is. So is it going to come down to one drive at the end, very similar to the Texans' Bills game, is it the Bengals having the lead and they got to shut down C.J. Stroud. Or is it Joe Burrow with the ball against his Texans defense and pass rush, trying to push it down the field. Man, I can't wait to see it. You know, what would be so kind of like poetic judge for the offense this year,

if they are the unit that carries the team. So I think this is a game where I can see the teams getting back to where they were in some ways. I can see the edge running at least once or twice. Defensively, communication-wise, they have to be much better. That was the biggest problem for using the defense this week. they have to be better. And I think this is one of those games where, man, I can see this being another shootout for Houston.

For both teams, right? You guys have to score 30 on week one to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Houston had to score 31 and then, you know, eventually Josh Allen in the building 36. So I can see this being a close game, but a shootout type of game, a 28-30-time game. And I'm leaning in the favor of Houston because I think they will create the that gives them the edge.

And off that turnover, what I was able to see from Houston. Well, anytime the bill scored, the Texans, for the most part, answered with a score. And that's encouraging. Texan fans understand how encouraging it is because that wasn't the case in 2025. And so I see a turnover at two in this game, and I see the Houston, Texas defense put a team in advantage of situations where the office can capitalize off of that. So I'm going to go Houston in this game.

I'm a go with 250 from C.J. Stroud in the air. Two touchdowns from C.J. Stroudtowell. Another one on the ground, and then the rest of the scores to figure yourself out. Not having, potentially not having

Nico Collins could derail a Visto. He was limited. There's a chance they could be without Nico, and I saw Jadavia and Clownie pop up as well. He popped up, but basically everything with Jadiaman is all right, so I expect for Jadio. and play. Nico has a history with the hamstrings that, I mean, quite as well, worries us here in Houston.

If you put back in the 2024 season, the first five games, he was on pace for 19,000 or 1,900 yards in 10,000. But then he missed five games because of their hamstring injury. And that limited him to only a thousand yards on that season. So down Houston, whenever we hear Nico and hamstring in the same season, sentence, we kind of clutch our pearls a little bit or we grab our hat brims because it's something to worry about. He and Tia are very similar that way then.

We always got them against. You know, we're always like, yeah, he's going to miss three games. It's something with Nico. And this is actually why smart people have been advocating for the Houston, Texas, to kind of speed up the process and finally go wire receiver two. He's battling a catastrophic injury. He's on his way back to us, so I believe we'll see him this season. but other than that, it's been tough on Houston to find themselves

a benefit that they can trust to come in and pick up wherever Nico Conner's left off. So if he doesn't play, this will be a tough game for Houston to win offensively. He's their number one guy. Nobody else has really showed the ability to be a number two at this point. If he does play, I have Houston winning this game. I like it. I just can't, you know, for me, I want to see one thing real quick,

for Bengals fans here. After watching that Bill's Texas game, it's on my mind. And Helen put that ball up and put it up down the field, gave some opportunities to the Texans that they didn't capitalize on, gave some opportunities to his receivers. I want to see Joe Burrow do the same. I want to see a little bit of a shootout between Joe Burrow and C.J. Stroud. I'd love to see that right at the end of the game. Who's going to make the drive? I want to see a shootout.

Yeah. I want to see a shootout. Something fun, right? I mean, on the NFL field. So thank you guys for watching today's episode of the Locked on Texans and Locked on Bengals. Joe, any alerts? I know. That's it. You know, I'm, I'm hoping for the put on a show. This should have been a prime time game. You know what? Next time it will be because C.J. Shriar will have shut up all the haters.

And they say, oh, I thought you're going to say because it'll be in the playoffs. Because they, hey, listen, we got to get Cincinnati back to the playoffs. Joe, Joe Burrow has been kind of skating off on his top five. We know what he's healthy. He's a top five quarterback. Not just get us to see my boy jump back in the playoffs. We want to see the Texans back in the playoffs. We lost. to TJ Yates back in the day. I don't know if you remember this. We're still sober.

I remember. And, you know, JJ kind of saw his legacy on y'all. I know. So it's some bad juju there for Cincinnati. That would be a great postseason matchup. Until next time, Texan fans and Bingo fans alike. Let's have a week two of NFL football, Texas Bengals. Who you got?

Let us know in the comment section. Peace!