CINCINNATI -- There's still about three months until the start of the regular season.
Still, it isn't too early to start previewing the Cincinnati Bengals' year by looking at the past and seeing how they fared against the teams they will be facing. Whether they last saw their upcoming opponents one year ago or four, and whether they faced them in the regular season or playoffs, there could be something to learn from those meetings.
We began with the first team on the Bengals' 2015 schedule, the Oakland Raiders. Next came the San Diego Chargers. Next came the Baltimore Ravens. Next came the Kansas City Chiefs. Next came the Seattle Seahawks. Next came the Buffalo Bills. Then came the Pittsburgh Steelers. Then came the Cleveland Browns. Now, we continue with team No. 9, the Houston Texans.
In their most recent outing against the Texans, the Bengals got a series of Mike Nugent field goals, and a well-managed game by Andy Dalton to claim a long-elusive win inside NRG Stadium. A.J. Green had a career-high in catches as the Bengals got a key late-season victory:
HOUSTON TEXANS
Date of 2015 meeting: Nov. 16, in Cincinnati
Texans' 2014 record: 9-7
All-time series: Texans lead 5-4
Last time Bengals faced Texans: Cincinnati won, 22-13, on Nov. 23, 2014
How the game was won: The Bengals' previous three trips to Houston -- not to mention their previous five overall games against the Texans -- didn't go very well. Bringing a five-game series losing streak to NRG Stadium last November, they were simply looking for a win any way they could get it. It didn't have to be pretty, but as long as they could claim a "W" during what was the second game in a three-week stretch of road games, they would be content.
Dalton specifically was looking to get a monkey off his back. A native of nearby Katy, Texas, he had never won a game against his hometown team. Thanks to his 233-yard passing performance, he finally did. He also had a touchdown and regularly found Green. Although former Bengal Johnathan Joseph guessed right on a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown -- Houston's only touchdown of the game -- he was routinely confounded by Green, who often had enough space to make timely catches. Half of Dalton's 24 completions and more than half his passing yards went to Green. Despite not ending up in the end zone, Green still caught a career-high 12 passes for 121 yards. In the running game, the Bengals picked up 135 yards, buoyed by another strong outing from rookie Jeremy Hill (87 yards).
This year's key storyline: Take one look at the times on the Bengals' schedule, and you already know what the top storyline will be entering this game as far as they're concerned: it's in primetime. Since Marvin Lewis became head coach in 2003, the Bengals are 7-16 in regular-season games at night. Last season, they went 1-3 in primetime, with two of the losses being among the most lopsided they had all season. They are at home for this Monday night game.
Also worth tracking in Week 10 will be the battle between the Bengals' offensive line and Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. Cincinnati was one of the few teams that kept him relatively quiet last season. That was a credit to offensive tackle Andre Smith, who left the game with a season-ending arm injury, and former backup tackle Marshall Newhouse, who played well in relief of Smith.