Texans, Ravens have much in common,
Defenses stand out as teams evenly matched for Round 2
OWINGS MILLS, MD. — The Houston Texans’ look has changed a bit more than the Baltimore Ravens’ since their Week 6 meeting, but the teams’ shared approach makes Sunday’s divisional round playoff game intriguing.
Their defenses rank 2-3, which is more newsworthy for the second-ranked Texans considering they finished 30th last season. The Ravens’ 13thranked offense is two notches below the Texans, though Baltimore climbed seven spots from 2010.
But as Houston discovered with linebacker J.J. Watts’ interception return for a touchdown in Saturday’s wild-card win against the Cincinnati Bengals, one play can change everything. That’s a familiar formula for Baltimore, which aims to use that and other intangibles to tilt the scales, with most everything else equal statistically.
“It’s been an offensive team the last three or four years, and I think they’ve really shored up their defense,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said of the Texans on Monday. “To me, they can win pretty much in any one of the three phases, and I believe that about us, too, in all three phases.”
Houston’s personnel has changed since that 29-14 loss to Baltimore on Oct. 16: quarterback Matt Schaub, whose season was ended by a foot injury, has given way to rookie T.J. Yates, who was 3-3 but led the Texans to a 31-10 victory in their postseason debut. He completed 11 of 20 passes for 159 yards in that game, including a 40-yard TD toss to wideout Andre Johnson, who missed the previous meeting with Baltimore because of a hamstring injury.
“The two guys look the same to me,” said Ravens defensive end Cory Redding, comparing Yates to Schaub. “It almost looks like he’s wearing number 8.”
One constant has been running back Arian Foster, who followed up a 1,224-yard, 10-TD regular season by rushing 24 times for 153 yards and two scores vs. Cincinnati. The defense, behind first-year coordinator Wade Phillips, recorded four sacks and three interceptions of rookie quarterback Andy Dalton.
Baltimore’s 13-3 record has been built much the same way, with running back Ray Rice combining for 2,068 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns and quarterback Joe Flacco throwing for 3,610 yards and 20 TDS with 12 interceptions. Linebacker Terrell Suggs, with 14 sacks, leads an opportunistic defense that allows 16.6 points a game, ranking third.
“I don’t think either one of us has changed a whole lot (since the previous game),” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said Monday. “They’re just so dang good at what they do. You look at these players they line up on both sides of the ball, the year that Rice has had, Flacco has had . . . then you go to (the) defense.”
The Texans have an edge in momentum, coming off a hard-earned victory in their first playoff game. But they’re facing a rested Ravens team that’s coming off its first postseason bye under Harbaugh and is unbeaten this season at M&T Bank Stadium.
“There will be wrinkles here and there,” Harbaugh said, “but it’s going to be our players running our system against their players running their system. Whichever team plays best on Sunday will win.”