With the Texans dismantling the Cincinnati Bengals in a 31-10 final on Saturday afternoon, the Ravens now know they’ll welcome No. 3 seed Houston to M&T Bank Stadium at 1 p.m. next Sunday.
The Ravens own a 5-0 record against the Texans, including a 29-14 victory in Week 6 of the regular season. Billy Cundiff kicked five field goals, Joe Flacco threw for 305 yards, and Ray Rice rushed for 101 yards to lead the Ravens to victory despite trailing late in the third quarter.
Unlike the Oct. 16 meeting in Baltimore, Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson will be available, creating a matchup concern in the Baltimore secondary. However, Houston obviously won’t have the services of starting quarterback Matt Schaub, who threw for 220 yards and a touchdown pass against the Ravens in that regular-season meeting. Star running back Arian Foster was held to just 49 yards on 15 carries against the Ravens’ second-ranked run defense.
Rookie quarterback T.J. Yates is unlikely to cause any restless nights for the Baltimore defense leading up to next Sunday’s game, but Houston’s No. 2 defense — a spot ahead of the Ravens — will pose a challenge to Flacco and the Ravens offense.
The Texans possess the 18th-ranked passing game and second-ranked running game in the NFL. The Houston defense is third against the pass and fourth against the run in Wade Phillips’ first year as defensive coordinator.
With the Texans having just completed their first ever postseason game, next Sunday will obviously mark the first postseason meeting between the teams.
Houston’s win over the Bengals means the winner of Sunday’s wild card meeting between Pittsburgh and Denver will travel to Foxborough next Saturday to take on the No. 1 seed New England Patriots. For those pining for a third meeting between the Ravens and Steelers, it can now only take place in the AFC Championship game.
Of course, that one would take place in Baltimore.
But, before that can happen, the Ravens will need to take care of business in their first home playoff game in five years.
Luke Jones
Luke Jones is the Ravens and Orioles beat reporter for WNST BaltimorePositive.com and is a PFWA member. His mind is consumed with useless sports knowledge, pro wrestling promos, and movie quotes, but he often forgets where he put his phone. Luke's favorite sports memories include being one of the thousands of kids who waited for Cal Ripken's autograph after Orioles games in the summer of 1995, attending the Super Bowl XXXV victory parade with his dad in the pouring rain, and watching the Terps advance to the Final Four at the Carrier Dome in 2002. Follow him on social media @BaltimoreLuke or email him at Luke@wnst.net.
8
Paid Advertisement
Podcast Audio Vault
88Paid Advertisement
Share the Post:
8Paid Advertisement
Right Now in Baltimore
As MLB moves toward inevitable labor war, where do Orioles fit into the battle?
We're all excited about the possibilities of the 2026 MLB season but the clouds of labor war are percolating even in spring training. Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the complicated complications of six decades of Major League Baseball labor history and the bubbling situation for a salary cap. And what will the role of the new Baltimore Orioles ownership be in the looming dogfight?
Profits are up, accountability is down and internal report cards are a no-no for guys like Steve
The NFL continues to rule the sports world even in the slowest of times. Luke Jones and Nestor discuss the NFLPA report cards on franchises and transparency and accountability amongst billionaires who can't even get an Epstein List regular who just hired John Harbaugh to come to light and off their ownership ledgers. We'd ask Steve Bisciotti about it, but of course he's evaporated again for a while...
Orioles' Westburg out through at least April with partially torn elbow ligament
Since playing in the 2024 All-Star Game, Jordan Westburg has endured a relentless run of injuries.
888Paid Advertisement
