The Texans might exhibit all the characteristics of your classic one-and-done playoff team, but linebacker Brian Cushing says there's a surprise in store for those who believe Saturday's Bengals-Texans matchup is the red-headed stepchild of Wild Card Weekend programming.
"Just be ready for Saturday and bring your best stuff because you'll see the best game the Texans have played all year, and I can guarantee that," Cushing said Tuesday on KILT in Houston (via SportsRadioInterviews.com). "I haven't been this excited about a football game, maybe ever."
The Texans ended the season on a three-game losing streak, a slump that cost them a first-round bye and any semblance of momentum entering the playoffs. But Cushing believes one game is all it takes to end a slump and start a streak.
"I feel good … because I feel as easy as you can get off a roll, you can get right back on it," he said. "There would be nothing like winning a playoff game. That would be huge momentum, and that's just something we need to do and we know that. Going into this game, the adrenaline and the momentum is going to be huge. The crowd's going to be into it, we're going to be excited and we're going to play our best ball. There's no questioning that."
For a franchise that hasn't sniffed the playoffs in nine previous years of existence, just getting to this point makes the season a success. Beating the Bengals would send Houston into house-money territory.
