Cincinnati Bengals vs Houston Texans Box Score on Dec 24, 2016

The Sports Xchange
Dec 24, 2016

HOUSTON -- Cincinnati's Randy Bullock pushed a 43-yard field goal attempt wide right as time expired and the Houston Texans clinched the AFC South title with a 12-10 victory over the Bengals on Saturday night at NRG Stadium.

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton engineered a 13-play, 60-yard drive to put Bullock in place to exact revenge against the Texans, who selected Bullock in the fifth round of the 2012 draft. Instead, Bullock missed and the Texans (9-7) claimed their fourth division title in franchise history and second in successive seasons.

Texans quarterback Tom Savage, making his first career start, led a four-play, 75-yard drive that gave Houston the lead. He completed passes of 19 and 21 yards to Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins, respectively, before running back Alfred Blue darted 24 yards for a touchdown with 8:41 remaining.

Bengals defensive end Margus Hunt blocked the ensuing PAT, setting the stage for Bullock and Cincinnati (5-9-1) to win it. But he failed to come through.

Savage finished 18-of-29 passing with 176 yards. Dalton passed for 268 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

In a game devoid of touchdowns through the opening three quarters, the Bengals found the end zone first when wide receiver Brandon LaFell turned a short slant pass on third down into an 86-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown and a 10-6 Bengals advantage.

Texans defensive backs A.J. Bouye and Kareem Jackson collided behind the play, LaFell beat the rest of the Texans secondary to the far sideline and raced untouched into the end zone.

That score represented a stunning turn of events, but the Texans recovered in short order and immediately responded to seize the lead.

From the start, the Texans were on their heels offensively, unable to protect Savage and therefore inept are generating any semblance of a scoring threat.

Savage was sacked three times in his first five dropbacks, including on consecutive snaps by Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins and defensive end Wallace Gilberry to open the second drive. Houston resorted to a run-heavy attack the remainder of the half, but the results were similar. The Texans mustered 34 yards by the break.

The Bengals weren't exactly prolific on offense, managing 2.4 yards per play on their initial six drives before compiling a 14-play, 67-yard scoring drive late in the second quarter. That march ended with a 43-yard Bullock field goal at the buzzer, giving Cincinnati a 3-0 lead and more than doubling its yardage output to 122 yards.

NOTES: After spending the week preparing to return from a right hamstring injury suffered in Week 11, Bengals WR A.J. Green was pulled from a team meeting on Friday and told he will not play the remainder of the season. According to published reports, Green was disenchanted with the news and left Houston. He reportedly has a torn tendon that has not fully healed. ... Texans RB Lamar Miller was inactive with an ankle injury suffered last week against the Jaguars. He had played in 67 straight games and is 26 yards shy of matching his career best of 1,099 rushing yards set in 2014 with the Dolphins. ... Three Texans starters returned on defense: LB Whitney Mercilus (back), LB John Simon (chest) and CB Johnathan Joseph (ribs). Mercilus missed last week's win over the Jaguars. Simon and Joseph were sidelined for four and two games, respectively.