orioles

These teams are strikingly similar in some respects: Andy Dalton has looked poor down the stretch; in the last five games, he has seven turnovers against four touchdowns. Similarly,Matt Schaub has thrown one TD and three picks over the last four games. The gameplans on defense shouldn’t be too hard to divine therefore: Mike Zimmer will blitz all afternoon against Schaub. The Bengals’ D have turned into an excellent unit as the season has gone on. Over the last eight weeks, they rank first in average points against (12.8 per game), second in sacks (31), second in turnovers (19) and third in average yards allowed (307.4) Those stats have flowed mostly from the front seven, who are going to challenge the Texans severely. Similarly, Wade Phillips will throw J.J. Watt at Dalton. Watt...

The New England defense keep generating turnovers as teams struggle to keep pace with their offense, which is its usual irresistible self: opponent's risk-taking has allowed the Pats to post a +17 turnover ratio and of course, fuel Tom Brady. The Texans bring an interesting gameplan though; they are a run first offense that sets up Schaub off play action - ball security is at a premium and they've only fumbled twice all season. The key then, is for Houston to start well and test the New England defense. If Arian Foster gets going, it could be an interesting evening, as the home team's limited pass rush can expose a secondary that is still poor, despite the addition of Aqib Talib; Andre Johnson could put up numbers. The Pats have a decent enough run defense, but Foster is a significant...