Green had the first down, but as it happened all night, the Bengals just couldn’t convert. Quarterback Andy Dalton had a 61 passer rating on a night he completed just 22 of 38 passes for 197 yards as the Bengals could scrounge just 256 yards.
After Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt rung up his first regular-season sack against the Bengals, they were staring at a third-and-18 from their own 11 with three minutes left in game and had converted just three of their 12 previous third downs. But Dalton found wide receiver A.J. Green over the middle for a 26-yard gain and running back Giovani Bernard scooted for a big gain to put the ball at the Texans 48 at the two-minute warning.