When the Baltimore Ravens take on the Houston Texans this Sunday, a highly anticipated matchup will go down. It’s not between quarterbacks Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson like you might be thinking, however.
Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters will be looking to lock down Texans’ big-play threat wide receiver Will Fuller V. Baltimore’s shutdown corner has a tall task defending a receiver who is in much need of a standout 2020 campaign and more than capable of delivering on it when healthy.
Eyes are on the 26-year-old Fuller after the shocking trade which sent DeAndre Hopkins to Arizona early this past offseason. This move put an abrupt end to what was supposed to be a dynamic deep threat duo of Hopkins and Fuller. With Hopkins now out of the picture, Houston is counting on Fuller to live up to being the 21st pick Houston used to select him back in 2016.
In order for Fuller to live up to his hype, he first needs to stay healthy. He hasn’t played a full season yet, missing five games last season and 22 over his four-year career. “If I can play 16 games, the sky is the limit,” said Fuller, per “Around the NFL” writer Kevin Patra. Despite being the obvious No. 2 receiver on the depth chart, the Texans averaged 5.6 more points-per-game when he has been on the field. Fuller enters this game healthy, having appeared on the injury report Friday for a non-injury reason.
Fuller was impressive in the Thursday night opener against the Kansas City Chiefs, catching 8-of-10 targets for 112 yards. He’s clearly the favorite target of Watson as he received double the targets of any other player on the offense — Brandin Cooks had the second-highest targets with only five. Fuller is sure to have a similar workload in this Week 2 matchup, especially if Houston has to play catch-up with Baltimore.
For Baltimore, a major key to their defense is the ability of Marcus Peters to matchup against an opponent’s No. 1 wideout. The Ravens acquired Peters in from the Los Angeles Rams at the trade deadline last year. Only having to give up linebacker Kenny Young and a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, adding a top-five corner was an easy decision for Baltimore. Peters got to work quickly repaying the Ravens, earning First-Team All-Pro honors.
Peters’ teammates have loved what he has brought since arriving last season. Fellow cornerback Marlon Humphrey raved about what he’s learned from Peters.
“He sees it a lot different than the average corner,” Humphrey said in August. “He’s able to see things as it kind of comes. He’s really good at film study and different things. Me trying to turn on that, being more of a student of the game, leaning on him to add something to my game I think is the biggest thing. That’s what I think has led him to be so successful; mainly just the film study and being able to see things way before they happen.”
Humphrey’s praise was more than just kind words, however. Peters accounted for three interceptions in his limited time with Baltimore last season, including two returned for touchdowns. One came against Seattle Seahawks’ Russell Wilson while the other was against Cincinnati Bengals’ Ryan Finley. Both plays required Peters to read the quarterback’s eyes in order to jump the out routes, giving him a clear path along the sidelines for the score.
Peters has continued his impressive play into this season. Despite Baltimore releasing safety Earl Thomas, Peters and the Ravens’ defense didn’t skip a beat in Week 1. They demolished quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns 38-6. Peters and the secondary made life miserable for Cleveland’s top wideout, Odell Beckham Jr, holding him to just three catches for 22 yards.
The Ravens shift gears now to a Texans team which is in danger of falling to 0-2 on the season. Knowing both of these teams seek to put points on the board with explosive plays, you can bet Peters will have to be at the top of his game for the Ravens to pull out the victory.
The matchup between Peters and Fuller is set to be an interesting subplot to this Week 2 game. The Texans can’t afford to start the season 0-2, and Fuller is looking to put himself in position for his first 1,000-yard season. If Peters and the secondary can shut down Fuller the way they did to Beckham in Week 1, the Ravens could be in for another blowout victory and smooth sailing to a 2-0 start.
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