Can The Ravens Make C.J. Stroud Uncomfortable On Saturday?
We've Got Plenty Of Texans vs Ravens Bets Lined Up For Saturday's AFC Divisional Playoffs
The Divisional Playoff matchups are set after a crazy Wild Card Weekend in the NFL.
While we saw a bunch of upsets in Wild Card Weekend, only one home team lost in six games. The Baltimore Ravens are hoping it stays that way.
The Ravens earned the No. 1 seed in the AFC and didn’t have to play last week. They patiently watched the first round play out and will now take on the Houston Texans at home on Saturday, January 20.
Baltimore is widely viewed as the best team in the NFL. The Ravens finished the season 13-4, including a loss against the Steelers in Week 18 when the Ravens benched most of their starters.
On the other hand, the Texans finished the season 10-7 with a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback. While Lamar Jackson will win the MVP as quarterback of the Ravens, C.J. Stroud will win the Rookie of the Year as quarterback of the Texans.
Houston had a slight hiccup when Stroud entered concussion protocol over a month ago. But he’s returned, and now the Texans look hard to beat. In last week’s playoff game, Houston just dominated the Cleveland Browns, 45-14. Stroud threw three passing touchdowns and wasn’t sacked once.
However, most teams haven’t been able to escape sacks and turnovers against the Ravens’ defense.
That’s why the Ravens are sitting at -8.5 (-115) against the spread, with the total at 45.5. The Under 45.5 is juiced to -115, with oddsmakers slightly favoring a lower-scoring game.
Check out the Texans vs Ravens bets you can place for this AFC Divisional Playoff game.
Texans vs Ravens 
Day/Time:
Location: M&T Bank Stadium
Streaming: Watch Live Sports
Texans vs Ravens Bets & Trends
The Ravens and Texans have both earned some money for spread backers. Baltimore has gone 11-6 against the spread, while the Texans have covered ten of 18 games this season.
Ironically, the Ravens were better on the road this year. At home, the Ravens went 6-3, but they finished 7-1 on the road. Baltimore has a home-field advantage until the Super Bowl, which maybe isn’t the best-case scenario for them.
On the other hand, the Texans have only gone 4-4 on the road this season. Therefore, the Ravens are still in better shape when looking at those trends.
Both NFL teams have also hit the Under more times than not this season. The Ravens have hit the Under in nine of 17 games, while Texans games have gone Under in 11 of 18 matchups.
The Ravens haven’t lost to the Texans since 2014.
C.J. Stroud Lost Another Target Last Week
The Houston Texans lost Tank Dell to a season-ending injury earlier in the season. Stroud watched other guys step up, like Nico Collins and Noah Brown.
However, Brown is expected to miss the rest of the playoffs after he was placed on the Injured Reserve due to an injury to his shoulder in the Wild Card playoff win over the Browns.
Brown only played five snaps and had one target before he left that game.
In the regular season, Brown had some major breakout games. But he also dealt with a groin injury and a back injury that kept him out other moments of the season.
Still, he finished with 33 catches for 567 yards with two touchdowns. He’ll be a free agent in March.
Could Baltimore Gets Mark Andrews Back?
In Week 11, Mark Andrews suffered an ankle injury that seemed to be season-ending against the Cincinnati Bengals.
While he didn’t play in the regular season, he’s already ahead of schedule and was designated to return from the injured reserve list by the Ravens last week.
That opened up a 21-day window for him to be activated to the 53-man roster.
Andrews had caught 45 receptions on 61 targets for 544 yards and six touchdowns in just ten games. He’s still second on the Ravens in catches and third in targets and receiving yards despite missing a bunch of games from his injury in the second half.
It’s still unclear if Andrews will play in this game or if he’ll have to wait for the AFC Championship if the favored Ravens advance. But just the thought that Andrews could make it back to the playoffs after a somewhat gruesome NFL injury is fantastic.
The Ravens Make Every Quarterback Work
It’s not easy against the Ravens’ defense. They’ve allowed just 16.47 points per game and have only given up 191.94 yards passing with 109.41 yards on the ground.
The Ravens get after it with sacks and force countless turnovers to make quarterbacks and other offenses uncomfortable.
That’s why Baltimore is the top team in the AFC and earned a bye week to begin the playoffs.
While C.J. Stroud has been spectacular, he’s already lost another target to work with. Against the Browns, Stroud wasn’t sacked and didn’t throw an interception. But that will change against the Ravens.
The Ravens added two interceptions and three sacks on Tua Tagovailoa a few weeks ago. They also secured four interceptions and two sacks on Brock Purdy in the game before that.
While Stroud is terrific, he will run into some growing pains against the Ravens.
Meanwhile, the Texans are solid defensively, too. The secondary has played very well, and the pass rush is above average. However, Houston has still allowed more yards per game and has a differential of just 3.05, while the Ravens have a differential of 11.94.
Baltimore blows out opponents consistently. The Texans typically sneak by, despite what we saw last weekend.
In another article, we’ll provide some Texans vs Ravens bets and some NFL divisional round predictions. However, we’d be surprised if the Ravens lost a home game to the Texans fresh off a bye week. The NFL football schedule is never easy, but the Ravens got it pretty good in the playoffs when looking at the NFL playoff picture bracket.
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