CINCINNATI (9-7) At HOUSTON (10-6)
1:30 p.m. today, NBC
OPENING LINE - Texans by 3
RECORD VS. SPREAD - Cincinnati 8-6-2; Houston 11-5
LAST MEETING - Texans beat Bengals 20-19, Dec. 11
BENGALS OFFENSE - OVERALL (20), RUSH (19), PASS (20)
BENGALS DEFENSE - OVERALL (7), RUSH (10), PASS (9)
TEXANS OFFENSE - OVERALL (13), RUSH (2), PASS (18)
TEXANS DEFENSE - OVERALL (2), RUSH (4), PASS (3)
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Houston has won last three over Cincinnati. Texans clinched first AFC South title and playoff spot in franchise history by beating Bengals 20-19 at Paul Brown Stadium on Dec. 11. ... Bengals haven't won playoff game since the end of 1990 season, when they beat Houston Oilers 41-14. They lost playoff games at Paul Brown in 2005 to Steelers and 2009 to Jets. This is only their third playoff appearance in last 21 years. ... Took Texans 10 years to reach playoffs for first time, longest streak of any expansion team. ... It's first playoff game since AFL-NFL merger in 1970 featuring two rookie quarterbacks. Bengals took Andy Dalton in second round. Texans got T.J. Yates in fifth round. ... Dalton grew up in Houston suburb of Katy and is 3-0 at Reliant Stadium after winning two high school playoff games there and getting a win in Texas Bowl while at TCU. ... Dalton started all 16 games. Yates got in for last five after Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart got hurt. ... Dalton missed practice Wednesday because of bad case of flu, but returned a day later. ... Over last six games, Dalton threw five touchdowns and only one interception in 184 attempts. ... During loss to Houston last month, Dalton and Bengals offense had miserable second half, blowing 6-3 lead. They managed 81 yards in second half, including only 9 yards on 14 rushes. Dalton fumbled on second play of half to start Houston's comeback and was 7 of 11 for 77 yards after halftime. ... Yates had biggest game of season at Cincinnati, completing 26 of 44 for 300 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He led Texans 80 yards in closing minutes, throwing 6-yard TD pass to Kevin Walter with 2 seconds left to win it.
DETROIT (10-6) At NEW ORLEANS (13-3)
5 p.m. today, NBC
OPENING LINE - Saints by 10
RECORD VS. SPREAD - Detroit 7-7-2; New Orleans 12-4
LAST MEETING - Saints beat Lions 31-17, Dec. 4
LIONS OFFENSE - OVERALL (5), RUSH (29), PASS (4)
LIONS DEFENSE - OVERALL (23), RUSH (23), PASS (22)
SAINTS OFFENSE - OVERALL (1), RUSH (6), PASS (1)
SAINTS DEFENSE - OVERALL (27), RUSH (12), PASS (30)
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Detroit making first playoff appearance since 1999. ... Lions set NFL single-season mark by coming back to win three games after trailing by 17 or more points. ... For first time since 1952, Detroit scored 45 or more points in three games. ... Lions scored club record 474 points in 2011; also set club record with 6,337 offensive yards. ... Lions QB Matthew Stafford set team passing records with 5,038 yards and 41 TDs, becoming fourth NFL QB with 5,000 yards passing in season, joining Hall of Famer Dan Marino, Saints' Drew Brees and New England's Tom Brady. ... Lions WR Calvin Johnson led NFL with 1,681 yards receiving and led NFC with 16 TDs receiving, which also broke former club record of 15 set by Cloyce Box in 1952. ... Johnson only Lion with 1,500-plus yards receiving and 15-plus TDs receiving in a season. ... DE Cliff Avril led Lions with 11 sacks and led NFC with six forced fumbles. ... Ndamukong Suh has 14 sacks over two seasons, second most by DT in NFL during that span. ... New Orleans has won eight in row and tied club record with 13 wins, equaling win total set by 2009 Super Bowl champion Saints. ... Brees set NFL single-season record with 5,476 yards passing. Brees had 13 300-yard passing games, most in a season, including seven straight, longest streak in NFL history. ... Brees set single-season records for completions (468) and completion percentage (71.2). ... Brees completed 26 of 36 passes (72.2 percent) for 342 yards, three TDs in last meeting. ... RB-PR-KR Darren Sproles set NFL record with 2,696 all-purpose yards. ... He is first NFL player with 1,300-plus yards from scrimmage (1,313) and 1,300-plus yards on kickoff and punt returns (1,383).