The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Week 2 matchup between the Bengals and Texans.
Find a breakdown of every Week 2 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Cincinnati | Rank | @ | Houston | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.0 | Spread | -3.0 | ||
| 21.75 | Implied Total | 24.75 | ||
| 33.0 | 7 | Points/Gm | 31.0 | 8 |
| 27.0 | 18 | Points All./Gm | 36.0 | 28 |
| 63.0 | 15 | Plays/Gm | 73.0 | 2 |
| 52.0 | 7 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 52.0 | 7 |
| 5.6 | 13 | Off. Yards/Play | 5.2 | 19 |
| 5.0 | 16 | Def. Yards/Play | 6.0 | 30 |
| 42.9% | 20 | Rush% | 43.8% | 19 |
| 57.1% | 13 | Pass% | 56.2% | 14 |
| 38.5% | 10 | Opp. Rush % | 40.4% | 11 |
| 61.5% | 23 | Opp. Pass % | 59.6% | 22 |
- In Week 1, 78.1% of the Texans' sets of downs resulted in a new set of downs or a touchdown (6th in the league). In 2025, they ranked 27th in that department (68.7%).
- The Texans allowed 7.9 yards per play in Week 1, the most they have allowed in a game since Week 14 of 2021.
- Houston did not allow even 6.0 yards per play in any game in the 2025 season.
- Houston allowed 3.0 points per drive in Week 1 (26th) after allowing 1.52 points per drive in 2025 (2nd).
- Joe Burrow threw to WRs just 41.2% of the time in Week 1, the second-lowest rate for him in a game for his career.
- The Bengals converted a league-high 57.1% of pressures into sacks in Week 1 (league rate was 19.3%). In 2025, the Bengals had an 18.6% sack rate on pressures (20th).
Trust = spike production for that player
Bengals vs. Texans Fantasy Quarterback Preview
Joe Burrow
Burrow closed Week 1 with another limited fantasy performance, finishing the week as QB19 (14.2 points).
Burrow completed 25 of 35 passes (71.4%) for 254 yards (7.3 Y/A) with a touchdown and an interception,
The Week 1 point total was a bit deceiving for the Bengals offense because of the turnovers they created.
Cincinnati scored a defensive touchdown and had two other drives start on Tampa Bay's side of the field.
A lot was said about Burrow playing more under center entering the season.
His rate of snaps under center did rise to 30.2% in Week 1, but that was still 25th in the league.
As a result, Burrow still only used play action 14.3% of the time, which was 29th.
The Bengals also played under center more to run the ball than to throw, respecting the Tampa Bay pass rush.
Burrow only attempted 5 passes from under center, completing 3 of 5 for 29 yards.
Burrow averaged 2.43 seconds from the snap to throw, the fourth-fastest in Week 1.
I expect the Bengals to get the ball to their wide receivers more in Week 2, but the approach could look similar to last week since they're facing the Houston pass rush.
Houston still notched a 33.3% pressure rate on non-blitzes, above the league base rate in Week 1 (32.5%).
Josh Allen scored 35.7 fantasy points against Houston in Week 1, the most points scored against a DeMeco Ryans defense.
Allen averaged 11.5 yards per pass attempt, the third-most any passer has ever averaged against a Ryans defense.
Allen also added 14.3 rushing points.
The Texans played poorly against Buffalo in Week 1, but I still think we have to respect them as a top-end defense in the big picture as the sample expands.
The Bengals have a depressed team total here relative to their full-season expectations.
With respect to Houston finding some defensive traction, I am treating Burrow as having a lower probability of hitting a ceiling outcome in this matchup, and I'll be handling him as a QB2.
1QB streaming options aren't as strong this week as they were in Week 1, but a short list of guys I would play over Burrow, if available, includes Jared Goff, Jordan Love, and Baker Mayfield.
C.J. Stroud
Stroud was a solid QB2 in Week 1, finishing as QB16 (16.5 points).
He completed 26 of 38 passes (68.4%) against Buffalo for 274 yards (7.2 Y/A) and 2 touchdowns, but he lost two fumbles.
With the changes made in Houston this offseason, I wanted to see if Nick Caley would expand his creativity in the offense in year two with Stroud.
We did see a slight improvement in the areas I was looking at, but nothing to write home about.
Houston used pre-snap motion on 54.8% of Stroud's dropbacks, up from 49.9% a year ago.
His play-action rate in Week 1 was 23.7%, a tick below the 2025 rate (24.8%).
We still need more of those things incorporated into the offense, but overall, Houston has now scored 30 or more points in four of their past seven games going back to last season, after doing so in two of their first 13 games under Caley.
Stroud has some appeal here as a home favorite with a good team total against a team capable of scoring points themselves.
I would continue to use Stroud as a floor-based QB2.
The Bengals made a lot of defensive changes in the offseason, and in Week 1, they forced 4 turnovers and got 4 sacks.
Baker Mayfield was the QB26 (11.6 points) against them, throwing for 216 yards and 0 touchdowns.
The Bengals allowed a league-high 82.1% completion rate in Week 1, but Mayfield also threw a league-high 48.1% of his passes at or behind the line of scrimmage.
The Bengals cranked up their man coverage in Week 1, playing man coverage 26.9% of the time (4th highest), but they had only an 11.1% blitz rate, 31st in the league.
Bengals vs. Texans Fantasy Running Back Preview
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More Week 2 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Matchup | Time |
|---|---|
| Lions @ Bills | Thursday Night Football |
| Panthers @ Falcons | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Vikings @ Bears | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Eagles @ Titans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Steelers @ Patriots | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Packers @ Jets | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Browns @ Bucs | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Saints @ Ravens | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Bengals @ Texans | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Jaguars @ Broncos | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Raiders @ Chargers | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Commanders @ Cowboys | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Seahawks @ Cardinals | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Dolphins @ 49ers | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Colts @ Chiefs | Sunday Night Football |
| Giants @ Rams | Monday Night Football |
