The Houston Texans have been a feel-good story this season in the NFL, and that story is still being written.
After going 3-13-1 last year, they were expected to show only marginal improvement in terms of wins, only to go 10-7 and finish first in the AFC South before blasting the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.
In the next round, they will visit the Baltimore Ravens, a team that went 13-4 in the regular season and is the favorite to reach the Super Bowl.
Job No. 1 will be containing quarterback Lamar Jackson, this season’s likely regular-season MVP, and Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans said there’s only so much that can be done against him as “he’ll find a way to make plays,” per DJ Bien-Aime.
DeMeco Ryans on game planning for #Ravens Lamar Jackson.
“You can throw a different amount of
things at Lamar , but he’ll find a way to make plays. That’s what makes him a special player.”— DJ Bien-Aime (@Djbienaime) January 16, 2024
Jackson threw for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns, and he added 821 yards and five touchdowns on the ground, and he helped the Ravens finish fourth in scoring and first in rushing yards.
They have dramatically improved offensively this year, and Jackson himself looks revitalized after the contract dispute he had been engaged in for many months until he got a five-year, $260 million deal in April.
But Jackson isn’t the Texans’ only concern on the ground, as running back Gus Edwards tallied 810 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns this year.
Ryans will also have to find a way to limit the production of rookie wide receiver Zay Flowers and possibly tight end Mark Andrews, who has been out since Week 11 with an ankle injury.
The Ravens will be favored, but with Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud’s clutch ability, an upset is always possible.
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