In 2019, the Houston Texans have participated in their fair share of thrillers. Sunday’s AFC showdown with the Baltimore Ravens is presumed to be yet another addition to the stock-full cabinet of Texans thrillers. This time, with Houston coming in as underdogs.
The 7-2 Ravens, led by MVP candidate Lamar Jackson, sports star-level talent on both sides of the ball. The flock are favorites to win against the 6-3 Texans, led by fellow MVP candidate Deshaun Watson. Houston can change the course if they accomplish these four “musts.”
1. Play disciplined football
The ultimate cliché in football: play disciplined defense. While resorting to a cliché maybe unoriginal, it’s true; the Texans must play with sound gap-control, keep their eyes on the ball, set the edge consistently, wrap-up with their tackles and, most importantly, know what No. 8 is up to.
Sounds like playing good defense, huh?
Pretty much.
The Lamar Jackson-led Ravens are a triple-threat on offense. They can dink-and-dunk down the field with RPOs and play-action, run at will with Jackson and Mark Ingram and, with the previous two in-account, give defenses trouble with the threat of Jackson’s legs and his arm talent.
Baltimore is a nightmare to defend. There has yet to be a defense that can contain and Jackson and Co. for an entire game. Playing like a well-coached front-seven would undoubtedly help.