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TIME: 8:30 p.m., Monday
PLACE: Paul Brown Stadium (synthetic)
LOCAL RADIO: Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst) led by "triple cast," Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530) and WEBN-FM (102.7) on the 41-station Bengals radio network.
NATIONAL RADIO: Westwood One Sports with Kevin Harlan (play-by-play), Boomer Esiason (analyst), and Laura Okmin (sideline).
TV: Cincinnati's Channel 5 and ESPN. ESPN broadcast crew of Mike Tirico (play-by-play), Jon Gruden (analyst), and Lisa Salters (sideline).
INJURIES
CIN:
OUT: RT Andre Smith (concussion), who didn't play against Cleveland on Nov. 5, didn't practice this week.
PROBABLE: Starting WLB Vontaze Burfict (knee) went limited all week after he tweaked his knee in the win against Cleveland on Nov. 5. He left with a limp in the first quarter but returned to play 70 percent of the snaps. Starting MLB Rey Maualuga (calf), who missed the Nov. 5 game, went full all week. RG Kevin Zeitler (foot) went full in Thursday's last scale practice of the week.
HOU:
OUT:Starting CB Kareem Jackson (ankle), starting OLB Jadeveon Clowney (back).
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THE SERIES
The 3-5 Texans lead the 8-0 Bengals, 5-4, 2-2 at PBS
NOTEWORTHY
»» The Bengals try to set the franchise record of most consecutive regular-season wins at nine. They've tied the record of eight straight set by the 1970-71 Bengals.
»» According to STATS, the Bengals are trying to become the 29th team in history to go 9-0, the 10th this century, and the first since the 2013 Chiefs.
»» The last time the Texans ventured to PBS, rookie QB T.J. Yates beat the Bengals in his first NFL start on Dec. 11, 2011 in an ex-Bengals nightmare. Yates found former Bengals WR Kevin Walter on a six-yard TD pass with two seconds left and ex-Bengal Neil Rackers kicked the extra point to give Cincinnati a 20-19 loss.
»» The Bengals recovered to make the post-season at 9-7 that year and since Yates beat them they are 22-7-1 at PBS.
»» The starting RT that day for the Texans figures to be the Bengals starting RT Monday with Eric Winston on deck now that Andre Smith has been ruled out. Winston, who started the last game vs. Cleveland, made 87 starts for Houston from 2006-11 after they took him in the third round in 2006.
»» Monday is former Bengals CB Johnathan Joseph's second PBS game as a Texan. Another '06 draft class member, Joseph had two passes defensed in the '11 game among the NFL-best 138 he has amassed since '06.
»» In 2006, Joseph became the first cornerback the Bengals ever drafted in the first round and began a trend with Leon Hall (2007), Dre Kirkpatrick (2012), and Darqueze Dennard (2014). There are 15 Bengals left who were Bengals teammates with Joseph.
»» Texans defensive coordinator and former Browns head coach Romeo Crennel faces the Bengals with a third different team in the last 11 seasons. Cincinnati is 8-2 vs. Crennel.
»» The game is 12 years to the day the 4-5 Bengals beat the 9-0 Chiefs, 24-19, during head coach Marvin Lewis' first season.
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 3rd in scoring, 6th in offense (11th rushing, 7th passing); 4th in scoring defense, 12th in defense (14th rushing, 15th passing), T-7th in turnover margin at plus-four.
HOU: 20th in scoring, 9th in offense (29th rushing, 6th passing); 22nd in scoring defense, 14th in defense (27th rushing, 8th passing), T-21st in turnover margin at minus-two.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 108-96-2 in 13th season, 3-5 vs. Texans.
HOU: Bill O'Briensecond season in Houston at 12-12, 0-1 vs. Bengals and Lewis.
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PHILIP RIVERS WEATHER UPDATE
The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio is calling for a game-time temperature of about 50 degrees under mostly cloudy skies and winds out of the southwest at about seven miles per hour. There is a 40-percent chance of showers in the second half.
NUMBERS GAME
.610 _ Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis' winning percentage at PBS
.694 _ Bengals QB Andy Dalton's winning percentage at PBS
.833 _ Bengals winning percentage at PBS in last three years
.722 _ Dalton's November winning percentage
8-2 _ Dalton's record vs. AFC South
12-9 _ Texans QB Brian Hoyer's career record
33 _ Dalton's Bengals record for TD passes in a season
36 _ Dalton's projected TD passes for this season
32 _ Hoyer's career TD passes
448 _ Most points scored by a Bengals in a season, 1988
458 _ Projected points for Bengals this season
284 _ Fewest points against Bengals in a 16-game season, 1978
284 _ Projected points against Bengals this season
291 _ Fewest points allowed in Marvin Lewis era, 2009
31.7 _ Houston defense's NFL-leading third-down percentage in 2014-15
32.8 _ Cincinnati defense's third-down percentage at PBS in last 24 games
49_ Points scored by the Texans in the first half
110 – Points scored by Bengals in first half
65.5 _ Texans RE J.J. Watt's career sacks since coming into the NFL in 2011
44 _ Bengals LE Carlos Dunlap's career sacks since 2010, moving into fourth on the club's all-time list past Justin Smith's 43.5
138 _ Texans CB Johnathan Joseph's NFL-best passes defensed since 2006 in 135 career games
125 _ Bengals CB Leon Hall's passes defensed since 2007 in 114 career games
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