The Houston Texans have already beaten the team with the No. 1 defense. Now they’ll have to beat the No. 1 team.
When the Buffalo Bills eliminated the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, the Houston Texans became the AFC’s lowest remaining seed, meaning their next opponent will be the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET in the first game of the divisional round.
The game will be a rematch of Week 1, when the Ravens (13-4) officially welcomed Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud to the NFL with a 25-9 victory in a game that was also the head coaching debut of the Texans’ DeMeco Ryans.
Since that game four months ago, Stroud has pieced together one of the best rookie seasons for a quarterback in NFL history, and Ryans is a NFL Coach of the Year favorite.
Hired after Houston went 3-13-1 in 2022, Ryans guided the Texans to the AFC South title and a 10-7 regular-season record. The Texans are also coming off a 45-14 wild-card demolition of Cleveland.
Meanwhile, the Ravens, who enjoyed a bye week as the No. 1 seed, finished the regular season with the NFL’s best record. Before losing what was a meaningless final regular-season game to Pittsburgh, Baltimore reeled off six straight victories, beating the likes of San Francisco, Miami and the Los Angeles Rams along the way.
The winner advances to the AFC championship game the following week, a game that the Ravens would host if they win. Here are the top three storylines for the Houston Texans-Baltimore Ravens playoff clash.
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1. Can Lamar Jackson win in the playoffs?
Lamar Jackson cemented himself as the clear favorite for his second NFL Most Valuable Player award with his masterful performance on Christmas night against the San Francisco 49ers.
As good as Jackson has been during the regular season, there are still questions about him due to his lack of success in the playoffs. His playoff record is 1-3, with his last appearance coming in 2020. Jackson didn’t play in last year’s wild-card game, a 24-17 loss to Cincinnati, due to injury.
Even in his last MVP season in 2019, Jackson led the Ravens to an NFL-best 14-2 record in the regular season, yet they lost their wild-card game against Tennessee.
Until Jackson is able to take the Ravens deeper into the playoffs, perhaps all the way to the Super Bowl, the doubts will continue to dog him. His first step toward erasing them is to beat Houston.
Related: NFL MVP odds 2023-24: Lamar Jackson emerges as clear frontrunner
2. How will C.J. Stroud fare against the Baltimore Ravens defense?
In his playoff debut, Stroud showed he won’t shy away from the big moments. He became the youngest quarterback to win an NFL playoff game with an epic performance against the Cleveland Browns’ No. 1 rated defense that fell one incompletion shy of him having the fifth perfect QB rating in the NFL playoff history.
In one season, Stroud has aced every test as a rookie, racking up multiple records and asserting himself as, at worst, a top 10 quarterback, and at best, a top-five QB.
Against the Ravens, however, he’ll be out to earn a graduate degree in NFL quarterbacking. Baltimore comes in with the No. 1 ranked scoring defense and features star players at every level of defense.
Stroud has already seen the Baltimore defense once before. While Stroud didn’t throw an interception, the Ravens sacked him five times and forced one fumble.
Now Stroud gets his shot at retribution and can show Baltimore how much his game has improved.
Related: Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud’s brilliant effort in NFL Playoff debut puts him on another level
3. Can the Houston Texans pull off the upset?
The Houston Texans have come together in the first season under Ryans, a former Texans linebacker who was the defensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers before he was hired.
While Ryans has excelled, he’ll be facing one of the game’s most experienced head coaches in John Harbaugh, who’s directed the Ravens to 11 playoff appearances and one Super Bowl title in 16 seasons.
The key will be keeping Stroud upright so he can make plays with his arm down the field. The Texans offensive line successfully protected him last week, allowing zero sacks against a Browns’ defense that features Myles Garrett, who was stymied by Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil.
On the other side, there’s the little issue of trying to stop Lamar Jackson, who’s the game’s ultimate dual threat at quarterback and is a master at extending plays with his feet. But the Texans’ defense came up big against the Browns with a pair of pick-sixes off Joe Flacco to run away with the game in the third quarter.
To upset the Ravens, Houston will need to force turnovers and get another brilliant effort from its young quarterback.
Related: NFL Coach of the Year race 2023: DeMeco Ryans in the mix