Cincinnati Bengals vs. Houston Texans: Live Houston Score and Analysis

All you can ask for as a team is the opportunity to control your own destiny. Having to rely on and root for other teams to help you out by knocking off the teams in your way can be frustrating, but surprisingly that won't be an issue for the Houston Texans.

After falling toward the back of a crowded group of teams in the wild-card chase with a 4-5 record after their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, the Texans looked like they would need a lot of help to reach the playoffs if they could even win enough games to get into the conversation.

If Ryan Fitzpatrick was still the quarterback, this introduction for the game against Cincinnati would likely have a different tone to it, but the strong-armed Ryan Mallett has breathed new life into the team and reinvigorated the fanbase.

If—and this is a big if—Mallett continues to play at the level he did against Cleveland, then the Texans won't be at a disadvantage at the most important position in sports nearly every week, as had been the case earlier in the season.

With Mallett and a running game that proved it can be explosive without Arian Foster, the Texans have a clear and (dare I say) favorable road to reaching the playoffs.

They have a total of three games left with Tennessee and Jacksonville in which they'll be favored, and then there are games against Cincinnati and Baltimore at home, where a win would give the Texans the tiebreaker over those teams. Houston is favored against Cincinnati and likely will be against Baltimore as well.

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For what it’s worth: Texans have the “easiest” remaining schedule, with three games against teams that currently have two wins or fewer.

— Andrew Siciliano (@AndrewSiciliano) November 23, 2014"

Even if they lose at Indianapolis—where they've never won in franchise history—they'll likely be favored to finish 5-1, which would put their record at 10-6 for the year.

At that point, the only thing that might knock them out is if Pittsburgh—who owns the tiebreaker over Houston—also finished 10-6 but didn't win the AFC North. In that scenario, Pittsburgh and probably the second-place team from the AFC West—Denver or Kansas City—would get the final two playoff spots over Houston.

Worry about that, though, later in the season. Their odds will go up in smoke if they lose to the Bengals. Every year is different, but Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton is 0-3 in his career against his hometown team with an average of 191 passing yards per game and just one touchdown to four interceptions. They've owned him.

The Bengals' 6-3-1 record is also a bit deceiving, as they've outscored their opponents this season by just three points, 224-221. That scoring differential would seem to fit a team with a .500 record or worse; for comparison, the Texans have outscored their opponents 229-204 this season.

Nothing in the NFL is easy or a guarantee, but if offered the Texans' current situation and scenario at this point before the season started, I would have taken it quickly.