The Houston Texans (2-0) travel to Baltimore this week to take on the Super Bowl Champion Ravens (1-1). This has all the makings of a great game, however, it all depends on which teams will show up. Will it be the Ravens who fell flat on their faces out of the gate in week one to lose to the Broncos in Denver by a score of 49-27 and giving up seven touchdown passes to Peyton Manning or, the Ravens that came back and scored two touchdowns in week two to beat the woeful Cleveland Browns?On the other side of the ball, you have the Houston Texans who looked terrible in the first half during the Monday Night Football opener against the San Diego Chargers. Well, it was really a tale of two halves. The Texans looked bad on both sides of the ball in the first half, but got their act together and came back and scored 24 unanswered points to beat the Chargers in the 2nd half. The Texans also struggled for most of the game last Sunday against the Tennessee Titans at home. They again rallied and came back to win in overtime, thanks to clutch plays by Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins.Something has to give when it comes to these teams who have both struggled, especially offensive consistency . The Ravens are led by quarterback Joe Flacco who is passing with 58.9% rating with three touchdowns and two interceptions. The Texans are lead by quarterback Matt Schaub who is passing with a 64.5% rating with six touchdowns and three interceptions. It’s an intriguing match up.As a sub-plot, there is the Ed Reed story. Ed Reed, the free agent, signed with the Texans on March 22, 2013 after playing 11 years with the Ravens. Reed is still recovering from offseason hip surgery. Texans head coach Gary Kubiak said that he doesn't know when Reed will be able to play as he is listed day to day. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has already stated that he will be surprised if Ed Reed doesn't play on Sunday against his old team.
Houston Texans vs Baltimore Ravens Week 3 Prediction
The last time these two teams met was last year in Houston. The Ravens had no answers for the Texans as they lost in week seven by the score of 43-13. That and the fact that the Ravens just could not get their offense going against the Texans swarming defense. One of these teams will have the upper hand on Sunday and I think the Texans will prevail again, and its not only because of the Ed Reed x-factor. The Texans have bolstered their offense why the Ravens have lost their firepower on the offensive side of the ball. Especially the loss of wide receiver Anquan Boldin. The Texans two headed running game of Arian Foster and Ben Tate will be tough for the Ravens to stop.
Match Schedule:
Competitor :Houston Texans vs Baltimore Ravens
Series : NFL Regular season,Week 03
Play-Off :1:00 PM, SUN, SEP 22
M&T Bank Stadium