The Baltimore Ravens continue to make arguments week after week as a powerhouse in the league and potential Super Bowl contender. The Houston Texans were no match for the home team as Baltimore took the lead early in the second quarter and never looked back.
Let’s look at three takeaways from the Ravens’ Week 11 win over the Texans.
1) The Ravens defense can stop anyone
In what was expected to be the rebuilt defense’s toughest challenge yet, this one wasn’t really even a contest. The Ravens set the tone early with a strip-sack of Deshaun Watson on the Texans’ first drive and, aside from some DeAndre Hopkins chain-movers early on, this game was a disaster for Houston’s offense.
The strength of Baltimore’s defense begins with its elite secondary. The Ravens were able to notch seven sacks on the day because of the outstanding play of its shutdown corners (the trio of Jimmy Smith, Marlon Humphrey, and Marcus Peters), forcing Watson to hold the ball far too long.
Aside from the outstanding play from the unit as a whole, the credit has to go to GM Eric DeCosta, whose midseason adjustments have turned this defense completely around. Paired with the way the league’s No. 1 offense is playing, the Ravens look virtually unstoppable.