Texans vs. Ravens Game Preview by Ron Benamor…

The excitement mounts in Baltimore as the football gods seem to be paving the way to a Super Bowl appearance for the Ravens with Denver’s elimination of the Steelers this past weekend…

But not so fast— there’s the powerful Houston Texans to deal with first…

Here’s Ron Benamor’s exclusive Texans vs. Ravens preview:

The Houston Texans will come to Baltimore Sunday to fight for a spot in the AFC Championship game….Well here it is, Baltimore has a chance to win a playoff game at home against Arian Foster and the defensive-minded Houston Texans. It will be a rematch of the week 6 game, where Baltimore edged out Houston, 29-14. However this game is entirely different. Houston no longer has the luxury of a Matt Schaub, who emerged as one of the top passers in the AFC until a knee injury cut his season short. Instead, the Texans will have to rely on rookie quarterback T.J Yates. Yates has played in the Texans’ last seven games, and he did exactly what he was asked to do Saturday against Cincinnati. He finished 11-of-20 passing for 159 yards and one touchdown, hitting on some key throws and limiting turnovers. Foster had 153 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries, taking some of the pressure off the rookie quarterback. “They’re a good team, got a good defense, good running game, young quarterback,” Ravens right guard Marshal Yanda said earlier this week. 

Baltimore came up short last year in the divisional round, but are looking to rebound. Now is the time to bring a championship home to Baltimore. First and foremost,  Baltimore must take care of business against Houston. So with all being said, I took a hard look at the Houston Texans and came up with the best possible game plan for the Baltimore Ravens come January, 15th.

Defensive Game plan:

1. Force T.J Yates to throw the ball: Nearly everyone on earth knows that Houston is predominately a run first team. With a rookie quarter back who hasn’t proven to be explosive, Baltimore must force Houston onto passing situations. In Yates’ six games as the starting quarterback, he has thrown four touchdowns and three interceptions, and also has four fumbles. The Texans are 2-3 in those games. Defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano will look to have a field day with the inexperienced Yates, sending blitzes on the majority of Houston’s passing situations, and force Yates to throw the ball down the field under pressure. Doing so will result in 3rd and longs and turnovers.

2. Stop the rushing attack: Ben Tate and Arian Foster have become one of the most versatile and explosive half-back duos in the NFL. Pro-bowler Arian Foster is Houston’s most targeted player.  Foster is second in the NFL in all-purpose yards from scrimmage behind Baltimore’s very own Ray Rice. That being said, the Ravens need to game plan around Foster. Baltimore has a top five defense in terms of the run, so they are more than capable of shutting down Foster. In the last meeting, The Ravens effectively shut down Foster, holding him to less than 50 rushing yards.

 3. Contain Andre Johnson:  By all accounts, Andre Johnson is having the worst season of his career (33 catches, 492 yards, two touchdowns). The season statistics came on a shortened season for Johnson, who has been riddled with hamstring injuries all season. However, Johnson had arguably one of his better games this season, coming up with 5 receptions , 90 yards and one touchdown. Baltimore will likely use the lengthy Jimmy Smith to contain the tall Johnson. Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard will shadow Andre Johnson over the top to contain  deep passes and avoid big passing plays.

Offensive game plan:

1. Limit the turnovers: Its no mystery that when you limit turn the ball over, you increase your chances of winning. In Baltimore losses this year, they have turned the ball over nearly three times a game. In contrast, they turn the ball less than one time per game in their wins. Last years divisional bout against the Pittsburgh Steelers the Ravens had three turnover, including a crucial fumble by Ray Rice in the opening drive of the second half. All three turnovers resulted in touchdowns.  If Baltimore wants to control the ball and put Houston in tough field position they need to assure that Ray Rice holds the ball tight, and Joe Flacco makes smart decisions in the passing game.

2. Feed the ball to Ray Rice: Ravens running back Ray Rice is the second in the league in rushing, mustering up 1,364yards and is first with yards from scrimmage with over 2,000 yards. There is no doubt that he is a primary target, even in the passing game. If Rice can get things going on the ground and through screen plays, Baltimore will be able to open up its offensive arsenal and allow Joe Flacco to throw the ball down the field.

3. Utilize Joe Flacco’s big arm: As I previously stated, Baltimore will primarily run the ball on most plays. Houston is aware of this and will likely pack the box with 7 or 8 defenders on many downs. If Joe Flacco can read this he may audible out of certain plays and send Torrey Smith on vertical routes. With his size and speed, he can outrun many corners as we‘ve seen all year… Baltimore will also have the luxury of Anquan Boldin. Boldin had surgery on Dec. 22 to repair a partial tear in his left-knee meniscus, and just eight days after the procedure he was back at practice. Now that the Ravens had a bye week, he has three weeks to allow the knee to heal and has no reservations about any lingering issues. “This is probably the best I’ve felt all year,” Boldin said Wednesday. “I’ve been playing with my meniscus partially torn so after I got it cleaned up, I’m able to cut without any hesitation and able to run so I feel real good.”. The Boldin and Smith options will be a huge boost to Joe Flacco. If the Ravens get the ground game going, look for them to utilize the play action pass.
 
This is a huge game for the Ravens, and no city deserves victory more than the city of Baltimore. The last few years have been especially tough for Ravens fans after falling short of the Superbowl by one or two games in each of the last three years. 
“There’s only one thing left to conquer,” wide receiver Lee Evans said. “I can’t even put it into words. It’s a special experience for me. I’ve been working and preparing for it since I came into the league.”

“It’s really where heroes are made, where stars are made, where careers are made,” running back Ricky Williams added. “I think we’ll have an opportunity to show how special we are.”