Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals came to NRG Stadium hungry for a win to stay in the thick of their division for a chance at the postseason. The Houston Texans were returning home also looking for a win to try to catch up to the Indianapolis Colts in their division. However, only one team could actually come out with the win. Unfortunately for the Texas, the Bengals came to play and defeated Houston by a score of 22-13. Little did anyone know at the time, but Houston Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett had been playing with a pectoral injury which would see him struggle under center and then see the end of his season.
Mallett was given the starting position by Head Coach Bill O’Brien after the bye week following the Texans week 9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. It was not known to anyone until post game, that Mallett had injured his pectoral. When that came out, it was also announced that he would be placed on the Injured Reserve list. Which means Texans fans will more than likely see Ryan Fitzpatrick in the quarterback position again next week.
The game was a hard one for Mallett who overthrew open targets and ended up being intercepted by Linebacker Rey Maualuga which led to a 2 yard touchdown for Cincinnati. Houston’s only touchdown came on a 60 yard interception by Cornerback Jonathan Joseph return after picking off Andy Dalton.
Luckily for the Texans, they have two teams in their division who have been struggling (and the Texans have already won more games than last season), so the worst they could potentially finish the season is second place. That is unless they either start losing multiple games, or the Jaguars or Titans start winning more games than they have already.