For the second straight season to kick off the NFL playoffs, the Cincinnati Bengals (10-6) will face off against the Houston Texans (12-4) on Saturday afternoon. However, quarterback Matt Schaub will be under the microscope this time around.

The Texans' signal-caller will make his first postseason start as the struggling team attempts to eliminate the Bengals in the wild-card round.

Houston's first playoff matchup in its franchise's history was a 31-10 win over Cincinnati last year to begin the wild-card round. Due to Schaub being sidelined due to a foot injury and backup Matt Leinart also out of action, T.J. Yates had gotten the call to be the general of the offense.

"It's exciting. It's an exciting time of year to be a part of this to get ready to play in a playoff game, especially here at home in front of our home fans," Schaub told ESPN.

During the Texans' 11-1 season start, Schaub put up 21 touchdowns while giving up nine picks. However, he only had one touchdown and three interceptions over Houston's 1-3 finish. The talented quarterback will look to turn his string of bad luck around at a very crucial time.

While Houston is thrilled to make it into the postseason, they aren't heading into them with the greatest momentum. The team faltered in its final two regular season matchups when a win in either could've gotten them a first-round bye and home-field advantage for the AFC playoffs.

"We didn't handle the end of the season the way we wanted to handle it, but that doesn't mean that we can't handle these playoffs the way we want to handle it. We understand how we have to play," said coach Gary Kubiak.

For those who have access to NBC Network simply CLICK HERE and provide your cable provider information to watch the Houston Texans face off against the Cincinnati Bengals via live stream. Coverage of the Wild-Card playoff game will begin at 3:30 PM CST.

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