HOUSTON - With their two Pro Bowl targets missing against the NFL’s second-best pass defense and their running game continuing to operate in quicksand, the Bengals defense and punter Kevin Huber stood up for their battered offense Saturday night in taking a 3-0 half-time lead over the Texans.
And the capacity crowd sniffing an AFC South title with a victory had to wait until the half’s last play to get a score and it turned out to be former Texan Randy Bullock’s 43-yard field goal.
Huber punted after the Bengals’ first six series, pinning the Texans inside the 20 three times and when Houston got the ball the Bengals buried Texans quarterback Tom Savage in his first NFL start with Double A gap blitzes and a run defense that held Houston to 39 yards on 13 rushes in the half.