Lions And Bengels Head To The Golf Course.

Not a good day for the road teams. Young and inexperienced Cincinnati went to the Tee box 1st. I sensed a little panic on the part of head coach Marvin Lewis who for some reason burnt his 2 challenges early on plays that didn't warrent a challenge. From there the Houston Texans used the punishing Arien Foster to pummel Cincy 31-10. Foster led Houston with 153 yards. Total the Texans ground out 188 yards. The return to health for all world wide reciever Andre Johnson also played a key part as he nabbed a 42 yard TD catch from rookie QB T.J. Yates. Yates finished with a modest line 11/20/159 but most inportantly 0 picks. His counter part Andy Dalton faced a fierce rush most of the day that led to 3 interceptions. The Bengals actually scored 1st with an early TD but were outscored 31-3 the remainder of the ball game. Houston will head to Baltimore regardless of who wins the Steeler-Bronco game on Sunday.

Over in the NFC the Lions inability to mount any sort of pass rush and lousy 3rd and 4th down defense was the main reason for their playoff coming to a quick exit 45-28. The Lions led at the brake 14-10 but couldn't make a stop in the 2nd half. How dominant was the Saints offense-They never punted in the game!  The Saints were 10-15 on 3rd and 4th down and that includes them kneeling on the ball in the last few seconds during a 4th down attempt. Drew Brees continued his torrid play going 33 for 43 for an incredible 466 yards. He actually had a few struggles early but was on top of his game in the 2nd half. Don't be decieved though the Saints also pounded the Lions on the ground with 167 yards on 36 carries. The Saints piled up 627 yards. The Saints move on to play the San Francisco 49ers next week which should be a classic offense vs defense matchup.