Bengals vs Texans: Which Rookie QB Will Prove Superior in Wild Card Game?

It's a rare occurrence when two rookie quarterbacks meet in the NFL playoffs, but that's the case this Saturday when the Cincinnati Bengals take on the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round.

The Bengals chose Andy Dalton in the second round of the 2011 NFL draft to be their starter for this season and beyond, signaling that the team was planning to move forward without Carson Palmer under center after seven seasons.

In contrast, the Houston Texans were forced to start T.J. Yates, a fifth-round draft pick out of North Carolina, after losing starting quarterback Matt Schaub to a season-ending foot injury and backup Matt Leinart to a shoulder injury in Weeks 10 and 12.

While both are equally as inexperienced in a playoff situation, Dalton does have distinct advantages over Yates.

Most importantly, Dalton has played a full season as a starter and is ostensibly more comfortable with the pace of the NFL than Yates, who has played in six and started five games this year.

Dalton's also been more successful than Yates, averaging 212.4 yards per game to Yates' 158.2.

While the Texans haven't been a pass-heavy offense, even when Schaub was healthy, Yates has managed to throw only three touchdowns, and his inability to throw for a score will harm his team's chances to win in the playoffs.

Yates does have a higher completion percentage than Dalton, at 61.2 to Dalton's 58.1, but Dalton has a considerably larger sample size to consider. All in all, Dalton has completed 300 of his 516 passes, for 3,398 yards, 20 touchdowns and 13 interceptions, while Yates has completed 82 of his 134 attempts, for 949 yards and those aforementioned three touchdowns and three interceptions.

Neither Yates nor Dalton have had many big games. Yates has a single 300-yard performance while Dalton has only two.

Interestingly enough Yates' one 300-yard day came in Week 14, when the Texans defeated the Bengals. Dalton threw for just 189 yards in the 20-19 loss and he should be prepared for the possibility of that happening again against the Texans' strong defense.

That familiarity with each others' defenses should help both rookies. While the playoffs are necessarily unfamiliar territory for both quarterbacks, the fact they are playing against a regular season opponent should allow both Dalton and Yates to be more comfortable in such a high-pressure situation.

Dalton certainly has Yates beat on the confidence front but both quarterbacks are equally prepared for the postseason. Neither has been in this situation before, and neither were supposed to make much of their respective rookie seasons.

I wouldn't be surprised if Dalton outplayed Yates on Saturday afternoon but the Bengals ultimately lost. Houston has an excellent run game behind Arian Foster and, to a lesser extent, Ben Tate that bails Yates out and they also field a strong defense.

If Foster can have his way with the Bengals defense, then there will be little need for Yates to play the role of hero quarterback, instead taking a more conservative path that doesn't leave the team in jeopardy of losing.

In contrast, the core of the Bengals offense is their passing game, with Dalton and his receivers responsible for the majority of the scoring.

That's a lot of pressure on Dalton, who has struggled when playing from behind or against a strong defense such as the Texans'. He's had five games with multiple interceptions and a performance like that on Saturday could cost his team a playoff victory.

All in all, Yates has made a case for himself to be the Texans quarterback of the future, whenever the team and Matt Schaub decide to part ways. But Dalton's already the future in Cincinnati and has played surprisingly well.

If the Bengals win, it will be because of Dalton; if the Texans win, it will be because the team was able to do so without Yates needing to make a major impact. Either way, Dalton is the better quarterback, regardless of which team wins.