Once more into the breach

Sixteen games, nine wins, seven defeats and the Bengals’ prize is a trip to Houston on Wildcard Weekend.

Hands up if you saw this coming back in August?

I didn’t, five wins at the most was my pre-season prognosis while some US commentators even predicted 0-16 for the boys from the Queen City.

Nobody had really reckoned on Andy Dalton and AJ Green having two of the best rookie seasons of all time. Nor did we count on linebackers Thomas Howard and Manny Lawson being two of the smartest free agent pickups of the summer (honourable mention Nate Clements).

Nope, the 2011 Cincinnati Bengals have been one giant pleasant surprise, even bigger than the side of two years ago which swept the AFC North.

Unlike that side, this team is young and has great potential moving forward. Granted, as a Bengals fan you tend to look towards the future waiting for when/how Mike Brown will mess it up but we can dream, right?

Above all else the season has been great fun and that is worth remembering as the team heads to Texas.

There is no pressure, some pundits are tipping us to win, while more expect us to lose. If you’re Marvin Lewis, why not just tell the team to go out there and enjoy it? Even with defeat this season can already be counted as a success.

I’ve actually been a little surprised at the number of pundits picking the Texans for this one, considering the sides met just four weeks ago in a game which the Bengals controlled for 52 minutes until throwing it away. I know Andre Johnson didn’t play in that game and will improve Houston’s offense hugely but for Cincinnati it’s an early chance to avenge what was a painful defeat. Fair enough, the Bengals didn’t beat a team which reached the play-offs this season but the New England Patriots didn’t beat anyone with a winning record. Baltimore lost to the Jags and Seattle – funny things statistics.

Neither side is in great form and both sides could be said to have “backed” into the play-offs (a ridiculous term in my book, the season lasts for 16 games and the teams with the best records get in, end of). There is no doubt some of the early season sheen the Bengals had has worn off but I still believe they have one more big performance to give.

For me the biggest key is keeping the scores close early on. In losses in Baltimore and Pittsburgh the Bengals allowed their opponent to build leads which could not be clawed back. They were guilty of the same thing in last week’s defeat to the Ravens.

But what the Bengals have shown this season is an ability to mount comebacks in the second half in tight games. If the Texans are ahead by less than a score at half-time tomorrow, put all your money on a Cincinnati win.

One other thing which only superstitious fools like me consider – this has been the season of breaking hoodoos.

This year the Bengals beat the Bills for the first time since Bill Clinton was president, along with Jacksonville and Indianapolis and they won on the west coast for the first time in seven attempts. Until last Sunday, Cincinnati had never qualified for the play-offs via a wildcard slot.

Now, today marks the 21st anniversary of the Bengals last postseason win, while it’s also worth noting they have never won a play-off game on the road, ever.

If those aren’t two hoodoos which need to be broken I’m not sure what is.

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Bengals-Texans is the first of four games on Wildcard Weekend and the hardest to call along with Falcons@Giants.

Atlanta are a great team to watch, particularly at the Georgia Dome which is a shame for them as this game is being played in New Jersey. I reckon that’s enough to give Eli Manning and the Giants, who know how to get things done in January, the edge.

I don’t hold out too much hope for Detroit, who would pull off the shock of the week if they go into New Orleans and knock out the Saints.

Except it would be an even bigger surprise of Tim Tebow and the Broncos take care of the Steelers in the final game of the weekend.

Let’s get one thing straight, I really like Tebow. Yes he’s a bit of an oddball eccentric and he’s not the greatest quarterback to ever play the game. But the sight of him confounding his critics week-after-week as the Broncos won six straight was one of the highlights of the season. They’ve lost three straight since then but surely it can’t be the end of Tebow time?

A Bengals win and Tebow and his "lord and saviour Jesus Christ" knocking Pittsburgh out of the play-offs would just about make my week.

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