Texans Ravens Line

Written by Steve Janus

This Sunday the Baltimore Ravens will host the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional round of the playoffs. While the Ravens enjoyed a bye week after locking up the No. 2 seed, the Texans were making their first ever playoff appearance. Houston struggled early against Cincinnati, but went on to win the game 31-10. The Texans win sets up a rematch in Baltimore. The Ravens had little trouble beating the Texans 29-14 at home back in week six of the regular season, but that win means nothing going into the game this weekend.

Taking a look at the NFL playoff spreads, oddsmakers currently have the Ravens favored by 7.5-points over the Texans with the total set at 35.5 points.

Houston Texans:

The Texans fell behind 0-7 and 7-10 early in the game against Cincinnati, but big plays on both sides of the ball put this game out of reach. Rookie quarterback T.J. Yates did exactly what he needed to do to help Houston advance to the next round. Yates completed 11 of 20 attempts for 159 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown pass to star wide out Andre Johnson. Most importantly Yates and the Texans didn’t have a single turnover.

Johnson finished the game with five catches for 90 yards. Yates will likely have to rely on him even more in this game, as there’s a good chance starting tight end Owen Daniels will miss the game with a hand injury he suffered in the second quarter against Cincinnati.

The difference maker for the Texans was running back Arian Foster, who not only rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns, but also caught three passes for 29 yards. Backup Ben Tate added 37 yards on nine attempts, but it was Foster who dominated this game. For Houston to make it past Baltimore this Sunday, they are going to need a better effort than they got out of Foster the first time the played the Ravens. In that game Foster had just 49 rushing yards on 15 carries and six catches for 52 yards, but Houston was playing that game with starting quarterback Matt Schaub.

Defensively the Texans played extremely well against Cincinnati. They held the Bengals to just 300 yards of total offense and forced three turnovers, including a 29-yard interception return for a touchdown by defensive end J.J. Watt. Much like Foster, the defense i going to have to play better than it did the first time they faced the Ravens. Cincinnati gave up 402 yards of total offense in that game.

Baltimore Ravens:

The Ravens finished up the regular season with a 12-4 overall record. They went 6-1 over their final seven games to secure the No. 2 seed and avoid losing the division to the Steelers. All of that and no one seems to be talking about this team at all when it comes to winning the Super Bowl. I have a pretty good feeling the Ravens are going to remind everyone just how good they are this Sunday.

The first time the Ravens faced the Texans, Joe Flacco carved up Houston’s secondary for 305 yards , while Pro Bowl running back Ray Rice carried it 23 times for 101 yards. The Ravens beat the Texans by 14-points, despite having to settle for four field goals. Whether or not they can convert long drives into touchdowns and not settle for field goals could end up being deciding this game.

On the other hand, the Ravens might not have to score a whole lot of points to win this game. Baltimore comes into the game with the 4th best pass defense (196.3 ypg) and the 2nd best run defense (92.6 ypg). If they can shut down Foster and force Yates to throw the ball, I have a hard time seeing the Texans putting together many drives that result in points.

Betting Trends:

Houston is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a road underdog of 3.5-10.0.

Baltimore is 5-0-1 ATS vs. a team with a winning record.

Be sure to stop back and check out who Steve Janus has picked to win in the NFL playoffs.

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