TIME: 1 p.m. Sunday
PLACE: NRG Stadium (Grass)
LOCAL RADIO: Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst) led by "triple cast," on Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530) and WEBN-FM (102.7) on the 25-station Bengals radio network.
TV: CBS broadcast team of Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Dan Fouts (analyst), Jenny Dell (sideline reporter) on Channel 12 in Cincinnati, Channel 7 in Dayton, Ohio, and Channel 27 in Lexington, KY.
INJURIES
*CIN: *
OUT: starting WLB Vontaze Burfict (knee) missing his fourth straight game after a scope; backup RE Margus Hunt (ankle) after getting hurt on last play of first quarter last week.
PROBABLE: Starting RB Giovani Bernard (hip, shoulder) went full Thursday and Friday after missing three games; starting RT Andre Smith (ankle) after going full all week and missing two games; starting LCB Terence Newman (knee) went full Thursday and Friday after not playing last week in New Orleans.
*HOU: *
OUT:
Starting LCB Kareem Jackson (knee)
QUESTIONABLE: Starting RB Arian Foster (groin) after he missed last week's game and practice on Thursday and Friday.
PROBABLE: Starting RCB Johnathan Joseph (knee) after being and limited all week and the same with starting OLB Jadeveon Clowney (knee) and MLB Brian Cushing (knee).
» [Complete Injury Report
](http://www.bengals.com/team/injuryreport.html)THE SERIES
5-5 Texans lead 6-3-1 Bengals at 5-3, 3-1 at NRG
NOTEWORTHY
»» The Texans have two former Bengals first-round picks 32 years apart working for them in defensive line coach Bill Kollar (1974) and cornerback Johnathan Joseph (2006).
»» Joseph made his two Pro Bowls in 2011 and 2012 in Houston after his five seasons in Cincinnati while playing under secondary coach Vance Joseph. Joseph, no relation, is now the Bengals cornerbacks coach.
»» Texans backup QB Ryan Fitzpatrick started 12 games (4-7-1) for the Bengals in 2008.
»» The Bengals have been playing in Houston long before the Texans were born in 2002. They were division rivals of the Oilers from 1970 until they moved to Tennessee in 1997 and the 74 times the Oilers/Titans have played Cincinnati makes them the third most frequent foe in club history behind Pittsburgh (88) and Cleveland (82).
»»The Bengals have played teams from Houston three times in the playoffs.
»» On Dec. 15, 1996 the Bengals shut down Houston's Astrodome with a 21-13 victory. Bengals linebacker James Francis, a Houston native, had two of their three interceptions of Chris Chandler, one a 42-yarder for a TD, that was the difference. That made them 6-2 since Bruce Coslet took over for Dave Shula and before the game Coslet agreed on an extension.
»» Bengals QB Andy Dalton and Bengals S George Iloka scrimmaged each other as Greater Houston schoolboys, Dalton at Katy High School and Iloka at Kemper High School.
»» For the third time in the last four weeks the AFC North features all four teams within a half game of each other.
»» Bengals CB Adam Jones leads the NFL in kick return average (32.6) and is second in punt returns with 14.4.
»» Bengals RB Jeremy Hill leads all NFL rookies with 556 yards rushing and rookie running backs with 715 yards from scrimmage
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 16th in scoring, 17th in offense (9th rushing, 21st passing); 15th in scoring defense, 28th in defense (28th rushing, 20th passing), T-13th in turnover margin at plus-one.
HOU: 15th in scoring, 15th in offense (3rd rushing, 28th passing); T-8th in scoring defense, 30th in defense (16th rushing, 31st passing), T-5 in turnover margin at plus-8.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 96-93-2 in 12th season, 2-5 vs. Texans.
HOU: Bill O'Brien 5-5 in first year, 0-0 vs. Bengals and Lewis.
THE WEATHER
The Texans rarely open the roof and while a high of 78 degrees is predicted on game day, there is a 10 percent chance of rain and that will be enough to close it. Plus, there is severe thunderstorm activity predicted for Saturday and Saturday night.
NUMBERS GAME
40-52 - Bengals record on the road under head coach Marvin Lewis
33-30 - Bengals on grass surface under Lewis
5-6 - Bengals record under Lewis when game is inside
26-19-1 - Bengals in November under Lewis
16-12 - Bengals under QB Andy Dalton on the road
26-3-1 - Dalton's record when Bengals rush at least 30 times
3-0 - Bengals record when rookie RB Jeremy Hill rushes at least 15 times
120 - Yards Hill has averaged last three games
74 - Yards Hill has to average in last six games to become first Bengals rookie RB since Corey Dillon to rush for 1,000.
15.6 - Career average touches per game for Bengals RB Giovani Bernard, 5-9, 208
13.9 - Career average touches per game for Bengals RB James Brooks, 5-10, 180
12.1 - Career average rushes per game for Bernard
11.4 - Career average rushes per game for Brooks
4 - TDs this season for Texans RE J.J. Watt
4 - TDs this season for Bengals WR A.J. Green
81.1 - Texans WR Andre Johnson's career average receiving yards per game, second all-time to Calvin Johnson's 87.2 for minimum 100 games
54 - Games played by Bengals WR A.J. Green
80.4 - Green's career average receiving yards per game
