Records: Texans (8-6), Bengals (5-8-1)

When: 7:25 p.m. Saturday

Where: NRG Stadium

TV/Radio: NFL Network, CBS, 610 AM, 100.3 FM, 1180 AM (Spanish)

The rivalry: The Bengals have won four of six regular-season meetings but saw their franchise-record nine-game winning streak come to an end with a 10-6 Monday-night loss to the Texans in 2016. The Texans have also beaten Cincinnati in back-to-back wild-card playoff games (2011-12), the franchise's only two postseason victories.

The coaches: The Texans Bill O'Brien is 26-20 in three seasons and chasing his third nine-win season as the Texans try to repeat as AFC South champions. Marvin Lewis is 117-102-3 in 14 seasons as the Bengals' head coach, and he's still seeking his first post-season victory. But Cincinnati won't get a chance to end its 0-7 playoff slog under Lewis this year.

How they compare: Offensively, the Texans are 26th in yards gained (5th rushing, 30th passing) and 28th in points scored, having managed only 20 offensive touchdowns, tied for last in the NFL. The Bengals are 12th yards gained (10th rushing, 15th passing) but only 23rd in points scored. Defensively, the Texans are 1st in yards allowed (16th rushing, 2nd passing) and 12th in points allowed. The Bengals are 21st in yards allowed (26th rushing, 13th passing) and 11th in points allowed.

Plot lines: The Texans have moved on from Brock Osweiler – at least for now – as third-year pro Tom Savage makes his first NFL start in his fourth NFL game after leading the Texans back from a 13-0 second-quarter deficit in a 21-20 victory over Jacksonville on Sunday. They remain tied with Tennessee for first place in the AFC South. The Bengals are trying to put lipstick on a pig of a season, which will be their first sub.-.500 finish since 2010.

Six degrees of separation: Bengals QB Andy Dalton is from Katy and played at TCU. He's 1-4 against his hometown team, including the two playoff losses at NRG Stadium when he threw a combined four interceptions – one a pick-six by J. J. Watt – and no touchdown passes. The Bengals won Dalton's only regular-season appearance in Houston 22-13 in 2014. He passed for 233 yards with a touchdown and an interception. His first game against the Texans was in Cincinnati in 2011, a 20-19 Houston victory that clinched the franchise's first AFC South title.

Trending: The Texans have won two in a row after losing three straight. They remain one of just two teams (Chicago) that hasn't yet scored 30 points in a game. They have been held to five touchdowns in their last four starts. The Bengals had also chased an 0-3 run with back-to-back victories before losing 24-20 to Pittsburgh Sunday after jumping out to a 20-6 second-quarter lead. In five of its last six games, Cincinnati has scored 20 or fewer points.

Go figure: Nick Novak is 9-for-9 in field goal attempts in the Texans' two recent victories and has accounted for 29 of their 43 points. Only the 4-10 Jets and the 0-14 Browns have managed fewer sacks than the Texans' 24. Dalton has thrown only seven interceptions, but he also has only 16 touchdown passes. Last season, when he won 10 of 13 starts, he finished with 25 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Worth pondering: If Savage gives the Bengals' mediocre defense a lump of coal for Christmas Eve, are fans going to be delighted – or furious that it took O'Brien nearly 13½ games to pull the plug on the sputtering Osweiler?