CINCINNATI — Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is a giant presence who, according to Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, can be summed up with three little words — “Lord have mercy.”

Jackson will try to keep his Bengals from being the latest offense to be wrecked by Watt, who has 9.5 sacks, an interception, two forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries as he makes a bid to become the first defensive player to be named NFL MVP since Lawrence Taylor in 1986.

Watt also has four touchdowns — the same number as Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green.

“He’s a man-beast,” Jackson said. “I mean, what can you say? Whatever superlative that you want to use, you can use it. He’s as good as I’ve ever seen play the game.”

Watt has victimized the Bengals before. In the wild-card playoff game during his rookie season in 2011, he made a leaping interception of a pass by quarterback Andy Dalton and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown to break a 10-10 tie just before halftime of a game the Texans would go on to win 31-10.

It was a play Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said he still has nightmares about and one Dalton said he’s sick of seeing on the highlights.

Watt played a key role in another playoff victory against the Bengals the following year with a team-high five tackles, a sack and two passes batted down.

He won’t be the only playmaker Jackson and the Bengals offense will have to contend with Sunday in Houston, but he certainly will be the focal point.

“We’re playing against a tremendous football player, but that’s the beautiful part of the National Football League,” Jackson said. “What a challenge. You’ve got to be up for the challenge.

“But he is one guy,” Jackson continued. “I’ve never seen one guy beat 11. It just doesn’t happen. I’ve seen one guy disrupt 11, but not beat them by himself. Now he has a nice host of other characters, too, that people don’t talk about because he’s so good at what he does.”

That cast, however, comprises a defense that is ranked 30th in the league, including 31st against the pass. And the Bengals came out of New Orleans with some momentum and confidence after Dalton threw for 220 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a career-high passer rating of 143.9.

A victory in Houston would keep Cincinnati in first place in the AFC North, the league’s most competitive division where every team is at least two games above .500, and it would give the Bengals a three-game road winning streak with a trip to 2-8 Tampa Bay looming the following week.

In four road games this year, Dalton has thrown six touchdowns without an interception for a passer rating of 98.1.

“When you go on the road, shoot anytime you play, turnovers make a big impact in the game,” said Dalton, who will be going on the road but also will be going home as he was raised in Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston.

“Avoiding turnovers is what you have to do, especially on the road,” he added. “There is that extra little focus, because one little thing can go wrong, and the other team can get momentum, get the crowd into it and all that kind of stuff. There’s a little extra focus going into it.”