The Cincinnati Bengals' win streak ends at four games after falling to the ascending Houston Texans, 30-27.



Texans rookie sensation C.J. Stroud conducted his second-straight game-winning drive in the final minute and change after Tyler Boyd nearly scored not one, but two touchdowns in the Bengals' last ditch effort.

We identified five Bengals to watch for prior to the game, and all of them had an impact. Here's how they looked.

Revisiting Five Bengals to Watch vs. Texans

WR Trenton Irwin

How about that opening drive? Facing a third-and-seven 32 yards away from their eighth opening script touchdown of the last five weeks, the Bengals dialed up a deep shot to Irwin. Joe Burrow’s picture perfect pass found Irwin in the honey hole of the Texans’ Cover 2 defense, and Irwin notched his first touchdown of the season. 

Irwin re-emerged with a big 22-yard reception to extend a late drive, but that was his second and final target of the game. 

TE Tanner Hudson

Hudson tied his career high for receptions last week with four. He had five in the first drive alone today. Hudson’s two first down conversions, including a fourth down conversion, helped the Bengals get in position for Irwin’s touchdown.  

Those plays were apparently lost for the remainder of the game as Hudson was a non-factor after the first drive. He finished with six receptions for 33 yards.

ED Cam Sample

Houston came out challenging the Bengals’ run defense without Sam Hubbard, and Sample ended up banged up because of it. He got injured early in the second quarter only to return soon after. 

The difference between Hubbard and Sample in setting the edge was immense as the Texans had their best rushing day of the season with 188 yards. Sample's impact as a pass rusher wasn't any greater as the Texans protected Stroud extremely well. 

NT DJ Reader

Revenge felt good for a minute. Knocking on the door in the red zone, the Texans fumbled the exchange on a fourth-and-1, and who else but Reader scooped it up? It was the first of two fumbles Stroud was charged with in the game, which makes his win even more impressive. 

Cincinnati's usually stout run defense proved to be leaky without two key run stuffers in Hubbard and Josh Tupou. Reader couldn't do it all by himself, though he certainly tried.

CB DJ Turner II

The matchup with Tank Dell went back-and-forth and Turner made the play when it mattered most, but the wideout ended up on the winning side. Turner did his best to keep with Houston’s electric rookie, coming away with a couple pass defensed and a pass interference. 

Stroud basically did anything he wanted whenever he had the chance to push the ball dow the field. Noah Brown had an absurd 172 receiving yards on seven receptions, though Turner can't be pinned for most of that. It was a systematic failure for Cincinnati's secondary against a truly capable quarterback. 

Boyd ended up being the most impactful player for the wrong reason. He caught a crucial pass that got the Bengals down to the Texans' seven-yard line. Joe Burrow, who had as many touchdowns as he had interceptions, got sacked the following play and ran for one yard the next one. 

But it was Boyd's drop in the end zone despite a perfect pass from Burrow that sealed the Bengals' fate. Cincinnati settled for a field goal, tying the game at 27-27, but left 93 seconds on the clock.



That's too much time for the Rookie of the Year frontrunner. 

The Bengals nearly overcame plenty of their own shortcomings in this one, but the better team came out on top today. Now they must regroup on a short week before facing the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football.

Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase given an extra reason to play through injury vs. Texans

Former teammates will now have a chance to play against one another in Cincinnati.