Two teams are desperate to leave awful openers behind Thursday. Here’s who will

GREG COTE'S NFL PICK

TEXANS (0-1) at BENGALS (0-1)

Line: CIN by 6 ½.

Cote's pick: CIN 23-16.

TV: 8:25 p.m., NFL Network.

No NFL Week 2 game more than this one finds both teams already bordering on desperation, after Houston lost at home to Jacksonville by 29-7 and Cincy laid a similarly sized home egg vs. Baltimore, 20-0. Andy Dalton was four-picks-putrid for the Bengals, and Tom Savage was benched at halftime for Texans, who'll give first-round rookie DeShaun Watson out of Clemson his first pro start here. Houston has a ton of early injuries and the NFL's saddest, sorriest offensive line, so give me Dalton's 'Gals at home with the much-needed bounceback win.

This story was originally published September 13, 2017 at 2:44 PM with the headline "Two teams are desperate to leave awful openers behind Thursday. Here’s who will."