"Balance" is the key word for the Cincinnati Bengals this week.

They had it offensively last week at New Orleans when they passed 22 times and ran 36 times (11 of those runs came in the final seven minutes when the Bengals were trying to run out the clock and end the 17-point blowout).

By going to the run early and by getting the type of production they received from rookie Jeremy Hill, who rushed 27 times for 152 yards, they were able to open up the play-action passing game for the first time in weeks, and got A.J. Green going, too. After the Saints' defense started creeping up and playing with eight men in the box to stop the run, by the fourth quarter, the Bengals got the passing looks they wanted. Green was regularly single-covered outside.

So on one seven-play, fourth-quarter drive, they attempted four passes in Green's direction. He caught three for 80 yards and a touchdown. That's the definition of using the run to set up the pass; something the Bengals didn't do in their three losses this season.

The goal is to make Texans defensive end J.J. Watt and cornerback and former Bengal Johnathan Joseph non-factors. With that in mind, let's predict the Bengals, in their quest to confuse and confound the two, will be balanced again this week. If they can do just that, a second straight win will come.

Bengals 27, Texans 23