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JANUARY 7, 2012
TIME: 4:30 p.m., Saturday
PLACE: Reliant Stadium (Grass)
LOCAL RADIO: Play-by-play Dan Hoard and analyst Dave Lapham on "Triple Cast" flagships 700-AM WLW, 1530-AM ESPN and 102.7-FM WEBN on the 25-station Bengals radio network.
NATIONAL RADIO: Westwood One Howard David play-by-play, Tony Boselli analyst, Mark Malone sideline reporter.
TV: NBC broadcast team of Tom Hammond play-by-play, Mike Mayock analyst, Alex Flanagan sideline reporter. Channel 5 in Cincinnati, Channel 2 in Dayton, Ohio, Channel 18 in Lexington, Ky.
INJURIES
CIN: S Taylor Mays (hamstring) missed the last game and hasn't practiced this week and looks doubtful. So does OLB Dontay Moch, who missed all week in a season he has battled headaches. QB Andy Dalton (flu) missed Wednesday's practice but came back Thursday and was limited and expected to play. DL Frostee Rucker (neck) was also limited Thursday but expected to play as was DT Geno Atkins (Achilles).
HOU: QB T.J. Yates (non-throwing shoulder) suffered the hit on the first play of Sunday's game against Tennessee and finished a TD drive on 4-of-4 passing for 47 yards. He's practicing full go this week and is expected to play. RGMike Brisiel (leg) has been out since he got hurt against the Bengals but is expected to split time with Antoine Caldwell and was limited Wednesday. Also limited Wednesday but expected to play were CB Johnathan Joseph (Achilles) and TE Owen Daniels (knee). WR Andre Johnson (hamstring) was full go after returning to action last week with 20 snaps and is expected to go 40-50 Saturday.
» Complete Injury Report
THE SERIES
Tied, 3-3; 1-1 in Houston.
NOTEWORTHY
» A win puts the Bengals into next Saturday's 8 p.m. divisional game (Jan. 14) in Foxboro, Mass., against the AFC's top-seeded Patriots.
» The Bengals gun for their first road playoff win in history after three losses in the 1970s to two Hall of Fame quarterbacks and a Pro Bowler in Baltimore in 1970 (Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas), in Miami in 1973 (Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese), and in Oakland in 1975 (Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler).
» The other road postseason loss came during the 1990 season in Los Angeles when Raiders quarterback Jay Schroeder orchestrated a fourth-quarter comeback in a 20-10 loss.
» Cincinnati's Andy Dalton and Houston's T.J. Yates are the first rookie quarterbacks in history to square off in a playoff game. The last time teams from Houston and Cincinnati played in the playoffs, it was Jan. 6, 1991 and the Bengals were quarterbacked by a past NFL MVP in Boomer Esiason and the Oilers were quarterbacked by future Pro Football Hall of Famer Warren Moon.
» The last Bengals playoff win came against the visiting Oilers, 41-14, on Jan. 6, 1991, 14 days after Cincinnati beat Houston at Riverfront, 40-20. The Bengals play the Texans 27 days after Houston won at PBS, 20-19.
» Texans assistant head coach/defensive line Bill Kollar was a first-round pick of the Bengals in 1974 out of Montana State.
» The Bengals bring their third different starting quarterback to Reliant (Jon Kitna, Ryan Fitzpatrick).
» This is the first playoff game in Houston since Jan. 16, 1994, when the Chiefs beat the Oilers in an AFC divisional game, 28-20, in the Astrodome.
» In the Texans' first season, Bengals CB Artrell Hawkins tied a club record when he went 102 yards with an interception for a touchdown at Reliant in Cincinnati's 38-3 victory on Nov. 3, 2002. Hawkins's brother, Andrew, is a rookie wide receiver for the Bengals.
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 18th in scoring, 20th in offense (19th rushing, 20th passing); Seventh in defense (10th rushing, ninth passing), 17th in turnover margin at even.
HOU: 10th in scoring, 13th in offense (second rushing, 18th passing); Second in defense (fourth rushing, third passing), tied for seventh in turnover margin at plus-7.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 69-74-1 regular season, 0-2 postseason in his ninth season, 2-3 vs. Texans.
HOU: Gary Kubiak 47-49 in his sixth season, 3-0 vs. Bengals and Lewis.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
» 5-9 - Bengals record in playoff games
» 5-3 - Bengals home record in playoff games
» 0-4 - Bengals road record in playoff games
» 31 - Regular-season starts for former Bengals QB Ken Anderson before first playoff start
» 62 - Regular-season starts for former Bengals QB Boomer Esiason before first playoff start
» 29 - Regular-season starts for former Bengals QB Carson Palmer before first playoff start
» 2-4 - Anderson's record in playoffs
» 3-2 - Esiason's record in playoffs
» 0-2 - Palmer's record in playoffs
» 1 - Bengals postseason games not started by Anderson, Esiason or Palmer (Virgil Carter at 0-1)
» 16 - Regular-season starts for Bengals QB Andy Dalton before first playoff start
» 39 - Texans players making their first playoff appearance
» 27 - Bengals players making their first playoff appearance
» 165 - Regular-season games played by Bengals CB Nate Clements before Saturday's first playoff game
» 122 - Regular-season games played by Texans WR Andre Johnson before Saturday's first playoff game
» 706 - Career catches by Texans WR Andre Johnson
» 315 - Career catches by Texans WR Kevin Walter
» 163 - Career catches by Bengals WRs on active roster
» 30 - Catches for Walter as a Bengal
» 65 - Catches by Bengals rookie WR A.J. Green
» 66 - Catches by Texans WR Andre Johnson as a rookie
» 1,057 - Yards receiving by Green this season
» 948 - Yards receiving by Johnson as a rookie
» 7 - Green's TD catches this season
» 4 - Johnson's TD catches as a rookie
» 194 - Points scored by Bengals K Mike Nugent in two seasons with Cincinnati
» 206 - Points scored by Texans K Neil Rackers in three seasons with Cincinnati
