Written before the game and kept as published. Final: Cincinnati Bengals 20, Houston Texans 6 — the graded call is above.
The Bengals travel to face the Texans in Week 2. Our power ratings put the Texans 13th of 32 at +0.8 (Average tier) and the Bengals 9th at +1.5 (Playoff tier) — a 0.7-point gap that home field widens to a 4-point line on the Texans, 61% to win. It rates as the 14th-widest of the 16 games in Week 2.
No unit matchup in this game separates by even a point on our scale. The Texans grade -0.5 on offense (21st of 32) and +0.8 on defense (6th); the Bengals +1.6 (11th) and -0.9 (17th). Evenly-graded units on both sides of the ball is exactly the profile that produces a model line built from nothing but home field.
Zoom out to the full season and the model projects the Texans at 7.3 wins (favored in 11 of 17) and the Bengals at 9.9 (favored in 11) — 2.6 wins apart across the year. By win probability this is the 12th-hardest game on the Texans' schedule and the 2nd-hardest on the Bengals'.
Recent history, for context only: 12 regular-season meetings since 2002, 7-5 in the Texans' favour, plus 2 playoff games. They last met in 2023: Texans won 30-27 in November. Over their last 4 meetings the Texans are 3-1. It is not an input to the line — rosters turn over faster than series records do.
Does the model earn this number? In 666 of the 3266 walk-forward games it has been graded on (2013-2024, no market line used), it landed in the 60-65% range. Those favourites went 59%. The 61% on the Texans here sits in that same band, and the history runs slightly behind the claim.
Kalshi has not listed KXNFLGAME-26SEP20CINHOU, so there is no price on the board and no edge to quote. The model's number to hold it to: Texans 59%, Bengals 41%. Applying our 2 points net of the book's spread floor, that makes Texans contracts a buy at 57c or below and Bengals contracts a buy at 39c or below — anything between is inside the noise, and we pass. Week 1's KXNFLGAME contracts opened in May 2026 and the rest of the slate lists as the season gets closer; this page picks up the price automatically when it does.
Prediction markets are not sportsbooks — you trade a contract that settles at $1 or $0, not a wager against a house line. Informational only; trade responsibly.