Deshaun Watson – Page 238 – Syndication Server

How big is the Ravens game for the Texans?

The Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens square off in Week 11. How big of a game is it for the leaders in the AFC South?

“Big game” is a subjective term thrown around in the media that can relate to virtually any game at any time on the schedule.

Dallas versus Houston in Week 5 on Sunday night with the whole country watching, even though it’s still October and both teams still had 11 games to go? Big game!

The Los Angeles Chargers matchup in Week 3 was a big game because it was on the road against playoff-winning quarterback Philip Rivers. Week 7’s encounter with the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium was a big game because it was for first place in the AFC South.

Win them or lose them, the previous big games’ significance pale in comparison to the next big game.

The Texans’ game against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11 at M&T Bank Stadium is the very definition of a big game, media characterizations or otherwise. A win propels the Texans to the No. 2 spot in the conference, gives them a tiebreaker over the Ravens, bolsters their first-place spot in the division, and provides more proof they can beat formidable foes in their own venues in consequential games.

Quarterback Deshaun Watson fully comprehends the magnitude of the showdown in Baltimore.

“It’s an AFC game, road game,” Watson told reporters Wednesday. “They’re 7-2, we’re 6-3. There’s so much football to be out there and so much to be played and so much to continue to grow on each and every week, but every win is big in this league regardless of who you’re playing and where you’re playing.”

All of that is true, but the Texans, aside from underscoring a statement made in Week 6 at Kansas City that they can win in tough environments against great teams, can solidify their postseason bid with a win over the Ravens. The key is for Houston to play their brand of football they took to Arrowhead Stadium.

“This is definitely a big one, and we’ve just got to go up there and just block out the noise and play Texans football,” Watson said.

Texans QB Deshaun Watson not concerned with MVP talk

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson’s ultimate goal is to win games, not concern himself with his placement in the MVP discussion.

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has the fourth-highest passer rating int he NFL at 107.1 and has led his club to a 6-3 mark. With a team that saw a defensive playmaker in Jadeveon Clowney go to Seattle, and J.J. Watt lost for the season, the Texans’ star power has come from under center.

As a result, the former 2017 first-round pick from Clemson is finding himself in the middle of the discussion for most valuable player.

“It’s cool, I guess,” Watson told reporters Wednesday. “The only thing I can really control is performing on the field and then everything else is to the voters and whoever decides on that decision. I don’t get too much caught up in that.”

What has helped Watson’s case is his head-to-head performance against other MVP candidates such as the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes. In two of the next three games, Watson will have a chance to add more wins against big names with Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson in Week 11 and New England’s Tom Brady in Week 13 on a Sunday night with all the world watching.

“My ultimate goal is trying to win as many games as I can to get to that ultimate goal,” said Watson. “That MVP stuff is going to take care of itself. If it’s deserving for me, then I’ll do it, but if not, then best to whoever wins that award.”

While there are various and sundry most valuable player awards out there from the Pro Football Writers of America to Sporting News, the officially recognized MVP award is the Associated Press. If Watson were to win it, he would be the first Houston NFL player since running back Earl Campbell to take home the honor. Furthermore, a win for Watson would elevate the Texans out of the collection of eight franchises that have yet to produce an MVP (Ravens, Jets, Texans, Eagles, Saints, Buccaneers, Cardinals, and Jaguars).

Texans QB Deshaun Watson says Ravens S Earl Thomas supports him ‘like a big brother’

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson will be getting support from the opposition Sunday in the form of Baltimore Ravens safety Earl Thomas.

The NFL is a brotherhood, and the loyalties are often times defined by representation.

When the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens square off Sunday at 12:00 p.m. CT at M&T Bank Stadium, quarterback Deshaun Watson will be directly going against an All-Pro safety who has supported him his career in Earl Thomas.

Both Thomas and Watson share the same agent, David Mulugheta, and it is through the coterie that Thomas has long conveyed his support in the former 2017 first-round pick from Clemson.

“I mean, Earl called me Monday,” Watson told reporters Wednesday. “He FaceTimed me Monday, and I told him I was in meetings. Like, ‘I’m preparing right now to play against you.’ But yeah, it’s a family, especially in the group of circle and my agent and the clients that he has.”

Another example of the adversarial fraternity was when Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey was with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2016-19, another Mulugheta client, who went against Watson in four games over that span.

Ultimately, the driving force is competition, regardless of which side one is playing on.

Said Watson: “We have family ties, and we’re very supportive of one another and when we play against each other, we compete. Like I played against Jalen, we compete, but at the same time, we show love and we respect each other.”

During the limited interaction Watson had with Thomas, the former Seattle Seahawks safety told the Pro Bowl quarterback that he had a message he wanted to give him.

“He said he was going to hit me up later this week,” Watson said. “It was probably about something else, but he’s definitely — it’s pretty cool to have a guy like that to support you and be like a big brother.”

Texans fans are hoping “little brother” gets the win and both sides leave Week 11 with an equitable 7-3 record apiece as Houston seeks its first ever first-round bye in franchise history.

Texans 100: Facts and Figures for Ravens, No. 1-25

The Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens square off for Week 11, and we take a look at the series and Deshaun Watson facts.

The Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens get ready for a Week 11 encounter that is, not only a run for the playoffs, but seeding for the playoffs. If the Texans can get a win over Baltimore, they will have the tiebreaker and move into the No. 2 seed, the last of the first-round byes.

To get ready for the matchup, here are series facts and Deshaun Watson figures.

SERIES FACTS

1. The Texans are 6-3 for the fourth time in franchise history. All three previous teams won the AFC South (2011, 2016, 2018).

2. Since 1990, 99/119 teams that started 7-3 made the playoffs with 62 of those teams having won the division.

3. Since 1990, 87/145 teams that started 6-4 made the playoffs with 34 of them having won the division.

4. The Ravens are 7-2 for the third time in franchise history. Both of those teams won the AFC North (2006, 2012).

5. Since 1990, when playoff formats were last reformatted, 60/62 teams that started 8-2 made the playoffs with 48 of those teams having won the division.

6. The Texans are 2-8 against the Ravens all-time, including playoffs, with a 0-5 record on the road.

7. The Texans’ 2-8 record against the Ravens is their worst against the AFC North, including playoffs:

Browns: 7-3

Bengals: 8-4

Steelers: 2-4

Ravens: 2-8

8. The Texans’ 7-11 road record against the AFC North is their second-best outside the division:

AFC West: 8-8

AFC North: 7-11

AFC East: 7-13

9. The Texans are 31-55 in the Eastern Time Zone with a 24-43 record in the early time slot.

10. The Texans are 97-114 in the early afternoon slot with a 35-61 record on the road.

11. The Ravens are 140-103-1 in the early afternoon slot with a 96-39-1 record at home.

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4 Texans worthy of making the Pro Bowl

With the Pro-Bowl voting underway, here are four Houston Texans deserving of going to the All-Star Game in the winter, including Deshaun Watson.

Pro Bowl voting is live. In the thick of a tight AFC playoff race, the Houston Texans have their fair share of players worthy of heading to Orlando, Fla. on Jan. 26, 2020.

Four, in specific, stand-out as obvious Pro-Bowl selections. To get them there, Texans fans will be relied upon. They can do so by heading to NFL.com/ProBowlVote to cast their ballots. Voting ends on Dec. 12, it is free and encouraged that multiple ballots are sent in.

During the final two weeks of voting — Nov. 28 to Dec. 12 — fans will be able to vote for their favorite Texans on Twitter. They will be able to do so by tweeting the player’s first and last name, the player’s official handle or a hashtag including their first and last name. All three methods must include the #ProBowlVote hashtag.

When making voting, here are four Texans to keep in mind for Pro Bowl voting:

QB Deshaun Watson

Deshaun Watson is a full-fledged MVP candidate. His name on the Pro Bowl roster won’t be surprising come January. In fact, come game time in Orlando, Fla., the only thing that would be surprising is not seeing Watson suited up — unless he is in Miami.

Watson is drilling passes at a 70.2% clip, has a career-high 107.1 passer rating, has upped his passing touchdown rate from 5.1% to 6.0% (18) and lowered his interception rate from 1.8% to 1.7%. He has done so while throwing for 2,432 yards, rushing for 279 and tallying five touchdowns on the ground.

If stats don’t do the trick, take a gander at NFL Twitter on Sundays. Seemingly every week, Watson is producing highlight reels with his magical abilities. Combine that with a winning record (6-3), statistical improvement and a broad fan base and Watson is seemingly a lock to make the Pro-Bowl in back-to-back years.

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Texans vs Ravens: Point spread, over/under for Week 11

The Baltimore Ravens are favored by 4.5 points over the Houston Texans, but the matchup is projected to be one of the highest scoring of Week 11.

The Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens face off for a Week 11 encounter that features two of the most dynamic young quarterbacks in the game with Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson. Though the game is in the early game time slot on CBS, the implications and the matchup suggests one that will be worthy of late afternoon or prime time billing.

Odds-makers are giving the Ravens the advantage at -4.5, according to BetMGM, which are tied with the Kansas City Chiefs for the fifth-slimmest odds of Week 11. Keep in mind the Chiefs aren’t playing “at home,” but rather in Mexico City.

The point total for the game is 49.5, which is tied with Falcons-Panthers for the third-highest point total of Week 11. Only Chargers-Chiefs (52.5) and Saints-Buccaneers (50.5) have higher point totals.

In the history of the series, there have been three games that have gone over the 50-point threshold: Week 10, 2008 (54), Week 7, 2012 (56), and Week 14, 2010 (62). While Joe Flacco was the starting quarterback for the Ravens in all three of those games, Matt Schaub started in two of them. Sage Rosenfels was the Houston starter for the 2008 encounter. Who knows what Watson and Jackson will tally?

The game is a preview of a divisional playoff matchup, if the Texans can get that far. Currently, the Ravens are projected to have the No. 2 seed in the conference while the Texans are the presumptive No. 3. In wild-card scenarios, the highest wild-card goes to the lowest divisional host. As it stands, a playoff rematch would take place at M&T Bank Stadium. If the Texans beat the Ravens Sunday, that could flip-flop with the Texans the No. 2 seed and NRG Stadium the site for a future playoff rematch.

For more information on the rest of the NFL and college football, please check out our sister site, the Sportsbook Wire.

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Texans vs Ravens: Time, TV schedule and streaming info for Week 11

The Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens square off for Week 11 at M&T Bank Stadium. Find out how to catch the potential quarterback shootout.

The Houston Texans get back in action with one of the most challenging games on the schedule as they prepare to face the Baltimore Ravens on the road.

While it is a continuation of the great ACC showdowns between Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson, it is also one of the earliest bouts for first-round bye supremacy. Currently, the Ravens are 7-2 and have one of the biggest tiebreakers in all the NFL with a win over the New England Patriots. If the Ravens and Patriots tie, Baltimore achieves home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

But what if the Ravens don’t catch the Patriots? That’s why the Week 11 encounter is so significant. If that happens, then a win for the Texans gives them the tiebreaker of the Ravens, and they would have it immediately as both teams’ records after a Texans win would be 7-3.

Beating the Ravens probably won’t have an impact on Houston’s postseason qualification as there are still six more games to go and three more AFC South games. However, in terms of securing the franchise’s first ever first-round bye, beating the Ravens goes a long way. In terms of the city’s NFL team having a first-round bye, this feat has not been seen around Harris County since January 1994 with the Houston Oilers.

To get ready for the Week 11 action here is important game day information so you can catch the game. Follow the @TheTexansWire and the crew (@therealmarklane, @averydduncan, @ChrisNallsNFL, @arwoodNFL, @CotyDavis_24, @Get_Crumped, @MrRadioMann, @RondilMedia, @JonFuentesMMA, @somesportsguyy).

You can live stream the game on FuboTV (try it free).

Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens — Sunday, Nov. 17 at 12:00 p.m. CT

TV channel: CBS (Ian Eagle & Dan Fouts)

Live stream: FuboTV (try it free)

Radio: Sports Radio 610 (KILT-AM), Mega 101 (KLOL-FM) (Marc Vandermeer & Andre Ware)

Location: M&T Bank Stadium

Forecast: Mostly cloudy, 42 degrees, 12 mph wind

Referee: Alex Kemp

Odds: Ravens -4.5

NFL announces kickoff time for Texans-Buccaneers Week 16

The NFL released the kickoff times for the Houston Texans and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Saturday, Dec. 21, in Week 16.

The NFL released the kickoff time for the Week 16 Houston Texans at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Tuesday.

The kickoff time for the Dec. 21, 2019, encounter at Raymond James Stadium will be at 12:00 p.m. CT on NFL Network.

The game is part of tripleheader action on the league network. After the Texans-Buccaneers tilt will be the Buffalo Bills at the New England Patriots with a 3:30 p.m. CT kickoff.

The action finishes up on Saturday with an NFC West showdown as the Los Angeles Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.

Houston and Tampa Bay will feature two young quarterbacks in Deshaun Watson and Jameis Winston and two big-time receivers in DeAndre Hopkins and Mike Evans that could prove to be a shootout, no matter the records.

Fans in the Houston market who don’t have NFL Network will be able to watch the game locally on KRIV, Fox 26.