Since Andy Dalton entered the league in 2011, the Bengals and Texans have faced each other six times, including twice in the playoffs. They square off for a seventh time tonight, and the last six games will have featured Dalton against six different quarterbacks: Deshaun Watson tonight, Tom Savage in 2016, Brian Hoyer in 2015, Ryan Mallett in 2014, Matt Schaub in the playoffs in 2012, and T.J. Yates in the playoffs in 2011 (Yates also started the regular season game that year). More importantly, these games have generally been awful to watch, with four of the six taking place in front of a national audience (a MNF game, a Saturday night game, and two postseason games):
| Rk | Tm | Year | Date | Time | LTime | Opp | Week | G# | Day | Result | OT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIN | 2016 | 2016-12-24 | 8:25 | 7:25 | @ | HOU | 16 | 15 | Sat | L 10-12 | |
| 2 | CIN | 2015 | 2015-11-16 | 8:30 | 8:30 | HOU | 10 | 9 | Mon | L 6-10 | ||
| 3 | CIN | 2014 | 2014-11-23 | 1:02 | 12:02 | @ | HOU | 12 | 11 | Sun | W 22-13 | |
| 4 | CIN | 2012 | 2013-01-05 | 4:35 | 3:35 | @ | HOU | 18 | 17 | Sat | L 13-19 | |
| 5 | CIN | 2011 | 2012-01-07 | 4:35 | 3:35 | @ | HOU | 18 | 17 | Sat | L 10-31 | |
| 6 | CIN | 2011 | 2011-12-11 | 1:02 | 1:02 | HOU | 14 | 13 | Sun | L 19-20 | ||
From 2011 to 2016, there were 29 pairs of non-division rivals that played at least five games (including playoffs). This is highlighted by the Patriots and Broncos, who played a whopping 9 times. The Bengals and Texans have combined to average just 30.8 points per game, easily the lowest among these 29 pairs. And most remarkably, Houston and Cincinnati have combined for just 7 passing touchdowns against 11 interceptions, a -4 difference (among this group, only Texans/Ravens games have seen more interceptions than passing scores).
| Team | Opponent | PF | PA | Total | TD | INT | Net TD/INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patriots | Colts | 42.3 | 20.7 | 63.0 | 24 | 15 | 9 |
| Falcons | Packers | 29.8 | 28.6 | 58.4 | 27 | 6 | 21 |
| Redskins | Vikings | 28.6 | 28.4 | 57.0 | 18 | 7 | 11 |
| Saints | 49ers | 28.2 | 27.4 | 55.6 | 23 | 10 | 13 |
| Patriots | Steelers | 32.6 | 22.0 | 54.6 | 24 | 6 | 18 |
| Saints | Lions | 27.8 | 26.4 | 54.2 | 22 | 9 | 13 |
| Broncos | Colts | 27.0 | 26.8 | 53.8 | 19 | 9 | 10 |
| Packers | Cowboys | 28.2 | 25.0 | 53.2 | 22 | 8 | 14 |
| Seahawks | Falcons | 27.0 | 26.0 | 53.0 | 20 | 8 | 12 |
| Patriots | Ravens | 28.7 | 23.3 | 52.0 | 24 | 14 | 10 |
| Giants | Packers | 27.7 | 23.7 | 51.3 | 25 | 12 | 13 |
| 49ers | Packers | 27.0 | 23.6 | 50.6 | 17 | 6 | 11 |
| Patriots | Broncos | 29.8 | 20.6 | 50.3 | 33 | 9 | 24 |
| Patriots | Texans | 34.2 | 15.8 | 50.0 | 16 | 11 | 5 |
| Broncos | Bengals | 26.4 | 23.2 | 49.6 | 18 | 9 | 9 |
| Colts | Chiefs | 25.2 | 24.4 | 49.6 | 21 | 7 | 14 |
| Chargers | Jaguars | 32.8 | 14.6 | 47.4 | 22 | 7 | 15 |
| Rams | Buccaneers | 27.6 | 19.6 | 47.2 | 12 | 9 | 3 |
| Panthers | Cardinals | 26.6 | 20.2 | 46.8 | 14 | 16 | -2 |
| Texans | Raiders | 24.0 | 21.6 | 45.6 | 17 | 11 | 6 |
| Packers | Seahawks | 23.0 | 21.0 | 44.0 | 16 | 13 | 3 |
| Bills | Chiefs | 24.8 | 18.8 | 43.6 | 16 | 5 | 11 |
| Cardinals | Eagles | 26.6 | 16.8 | 43.4 | 18 | 10 | 8 |
| Dolphins | Chargers | 23.6 | 19.2 | 42.8 | 14 | 13 | 1 |
| Ravens | Texans | 21.0 | 20.8 | 41.8 | 9 | 11 | -2 |
| Giants | 49ers | 21.2 | 18.0 | 39.2 | 15 | 12 | 3 |
| Seahawks | Panthers | 22.7 | 15.7 | 38.4 | 17 | 12 | 5 |
| Steelers | Chiefs | 20.5 | 14.5 | 35.0 | 13 | 10 | 3 |
| Texans | Bengals | 17.5 | 13.3 | 30.8 | 7 | 11 | -4 |
The only saving grace? These games have been pretty close, with four of the six being decided by less than seven points. But otherwise? They have been painful to watch. And given the horrible performances by these two offenses in week one — combining for 7 points while taking 15 sacks — there isn’t much reason for optimism tonight.