Tag: steven nelson

Ravens snap count vs. Texans: Breakdown, observations from divisional round win

We’re looking at the snap count and playing time percentages for the Ravens in their 34-10 win over the Texans in the AFC Divisional Round

Baltimore will host the AFC title game for the first time since January 1971 after a 34-10 divisional-round win over the Houston Texans on Saturday afternoon.

The Ravens will play in that semifinal round for the fifth time since their arrival in Baltimore. They’ll take on the winner of Sunday’s matchup between Buffalo and Kansas City.

Lamar Jackson was on another level from start to finish and will likely win his second NFL MVP in the coming weeks.

In Saturday’s win, Jackson accounted for four total touchdowns while becoming the first player in NFL history to log two rushing touchdowns, two passing touchdowns, 100 yards rushing, and 100 yards passing in the same game.

The stat line is a credit to offensive coordinator Todd Monken and the Ravens’ ability to develop a scheme that features what the dual-threat quarterback does best.

With preparation for Championship Sunday set to begin, we’re looking at the snap count and playing time percentages from the huge win.

Instant analysis of Ravens 34-10 win overTexans to advance to AFC title game

We’re looking at an instant analysis of the Baltimore Ravens 34-10 win over the Houston Texans in the divisional round to advance to AFC title game

The Ravens avoided the repeat of 2019, advancing to the AFC title game after a dominant 34-10 win over the Houston Texans at M&T Bank Stadium.

The win gave Baltimore two wins over DeMeco Ryan’s team, and the combined scores of 56-19 provide insight into how far Houston has to climb before they start thinking about championship Sunday.

Lamar Jackson was dominant from start to finish and will likely win his second NFL MVP after accounting for 252 yards, four total touchdowns, and a `121.8 quarterback rating.

Mike Macdonald’s defense held Houston to 213 yards of total offense on 47 offensive plays, limiting C.J. Stroud to 19-33 passing for 175 yards and no touchdowns.

After overcoming past failures, here’s the national reaction to the Ravens’ dominant victory.

National reaction to Ravens advancing to AFC Championship game with 34-10 win over Texans

We’re looking at the national reaction to the Baltmore Ravens advancing to the AFC Championship game after a 34-10 iwin over the Houston Texans

The Ravens avoided the repeat of 2019, advancing to the AFC title game after a dominant 34-10 win over the Houston Texans at M&T Bank Stadium.

The win gave Baltimore two wins over DeMeco Ryan’s team, and the combined scores of 56-19 provide insight into how far Houston has to climb before they start thinking about championship Sunday.

Lamar Jackson was dominant from start to finish and will likely win his second NFL MVP after accounting for 252 yards, four total touchdowns, and a `121.8 quarterback rating.

Mike Macdonald’s defense held Houston to 213 yards of total offense on 47 offensive plays, limiting C.J. Stroud to 19-33 passing for 175 yards and no touchdowns.

After overcoming past failures, here’s the national reaction to the Ravens’ dominant victory.

Ravens vs. Texans: 10 takeaway from first half of Divisional Round matchup

We’re looking at ten takeaways from the first half as the Ravens and Texans are tied 10-10 in AFC Divisional Round matchup at M&T Bank Stadium

Baltimore got off to a slow start on Saturday before kicking things into gear on both sides of the football.

All-Pro quarterback Lamar Jackson was 7 of 11 passing, for 52 yards, one touchdown, and a 105.1 quarterback rating. Jackson had runs of 23 yards and 15 yards in the second quarter, scoring a drive that put the Ravens up 10-3 on the youthful Texans.

Houston responded on special teams, as recently elevated running back Steven Sims brought a punt return back 67 yards with 5:00 left in the first half.

With both teams back on the field, we’re looking at ten takeaways from the first half.

Projecting the Ravens depth chart for divisional round matchup vs. Texans

We’re looking at the Baltimore Ravens updated depth chart of ahead of the Divisional Round playoff matchup vs. the Houston Texans

We’re a little over five away from the Ravens (13-4) and Texans (11-7) kicking off the AFC divisional round of the playoffs on ESPN.

Houston advanced to the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs for the fifth time in franchise history with a 45-14 win over the Browns in Super Wild Card Weekend.

The playoff win earned the Texans a rematch against the Ravens, and they’ll return to M&T Bank Stadium hoping to avenge a 25-9 loss in Week 1.

Baltimore has ruled out Marlon Humphrey for the contest, while Pro Bowl tight end Mark Andrews won’t be active after being listed as questionable.

With Humphrey out, Brandon Stephens and Ronald Darby are the likely starting cornerbacks against C.J. Stroud, Nico Collins and the Texans’ dynamic passing attack. Darby has made seven starts this season, as Humphrey will miss his eighth game.

Outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney returned from an illness that kept him out of practice Wednesday and told reporters he’ll play. Wide receiver Zay Flowers (calf) and outside linebacker Odafe Oweh (ankle) also both returned to full practice and said they’ll suit up.

With kickoff fast approaching, here’s a projected two-deep depth chart for Baltimore.

 

Ravens’ updated 53-man roster for AFC Divisional Round matchup vs. Texans

We’re looking at the updated 53-man roster for the Baltimore Ravens AFC Divisional Round matchup against the Houston Texans

After producing the NFL’s best record (13-4), the Baltimore Ravens return to M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday after earning a No. 1 playoff seed.

They will host the Houston Texans in the Divisional Round (Jan. 20, 4:30 p.m.).

The Ravens clinched the AFC’s top postseason spot for the second time (2019) in franchise history. The 2023 season also marked Baltimore’s first division title since 2019 and the fifth (2011-12, 2018-19) under head coach John Harbaugh.

Star tight end Mark Andrews is not expected to play after returning to practice, and he’ll join cornerback Marlon Humphrey on the list of inactives.

With kickoff a little over 24 hours, we’re looking at Baltimore’s updated 53-man roster for the divisional round matchup against C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans.

AFC Divisional Round picks: Who the experts are taking in Ravens vs. Texans

The NFL experts have made their picks, and the Baltimore Ravens are favored to defeat the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional Round

We’re a little over 30 hours away from the Ravens (13-4) and Texans (11-7) kicking off the AFC divisional round of the playoffs on ESPN.

Houston advanced to the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs for the fifth time in franchise history with a 45-14 win over the Browns in Super Wild Card Weekend.

The playoff win earned the Texans a rematch against the Ravens, and they’ll return to M&T Bank Stadium hoping to avenge a 25-9 loss in Week 1.

With kickoff fast approaching, here’s the NFL expert picks.

Ravens divisional round preview: 10 things to know about the Houston Texans

We’re looking at ten things to know about the Houston Texans ahead of their AFC Divisional Round matchup against the Baltimore Ravens

The Texans advanced to the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs for the fifth time in franchise history with a 45-14 win over the Browns in Super Wild Card Weekend.

The playoff success earned Houston a rematch against the Baltimore Ravens, and they’ll return to M&T Bank Stadium hoping to avenge a 25-9 loss in Week 1.

The Texans are a different team since that humble welcome to the NFL moment for C.J. Stroud, and all the former Ohio State star has done is shatter records and lead his team to the postseason as a rookie.

With final preparations for Saturday’s kickoff underway, we’re looking at ten things about the Houston Texans.

Texans CB Steven Nelson got redemption in wild-card blowout win vs. Browns

Cornerback Steven Nelson accomplished history in the Texans’ blowout win vs. Browns.

With all of the excitement going on in the Houston Texans locker room after they dismantled the Cleveland Browns by a score of 45-14 in the AFC wild card game, one player stood at his locker with the same demeanor he had the entire season focusing on the bigger task at hand, and that is trying to help lead the young Texans further during their playoff run.

It was hard to tell that nine-year veteran cornerback Steven Nelson had just broken the record for the longest interception returned for a touchdown in franchise history with an 82-yard scamper in the third quarter off of Browns quarterback Joe Flacco. He also tied for the 11th-longest interception in the postseason in NFL history. It was his fifth interception of the season, tying Derek Stingley Jr. for the team lead.

The only emotion Nelson showed was when he talked about his overall play against a Browns team that had embarrassed the Texans on their home field in Week 16. He did not perform the way he wanted to, as he had played through injury in the previous matchup and knew that the Browns would target him as they had tried to do before.

Yet, this time was different, and the third-quarter interception, caused by defensive end Derek Barnett putting pressure on Cleveland quarterback Joe Flacco, proved it as Nelson knew the route that wide receiver Elijah Moore was running and occupied the spot. He was eager to get back on the field and try to force Flacco into throwing him another interception, but that honor went to linebacker Christian Harris, who had a 36-yard pick-six on the next defensive drive.

“I started to get into the zone,” said Nelson, who finished the game with five tackles (four solo), one interception, three passes defensed, and a touchdown. “I was just playing our brand of football.”

Nelson, 30, helped the Texans’ defense shut down the Browns’ offense, not allowing them to score after they had back-to-back scoring drives in the first half, which produced the same amount of points (14) as the defense did in the fourth quarter, becoming only the seventh team in NFL history to record multiple interception touchdowns in a playoff game.

“We talk about our moment,” said Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans. “We talk about opportunity. Now the biggest thing is what do you do with it? It was all about just going out and just finishing, continuing to execute, continuing to finish, and that’s what we did.”

Joe Flacco makes the wrong kind of history with back-to-back pick-sixes

Joe Flacco’s consecutive pick-sixes put a pin in the Flacco renaissance, made postseason history, and advanced the Texans to the divisional round.

Well, the Joe Flacco renaissance was nice while it lasted.

The Cleveland Browns are on their way to being forcibly eliminated from the playoffs by the Houston Texans, and if Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud’s brilliance wasn’t enough to make that happen, Flacco threw pick-sixes on back-to-back drives.

There was this Steven Nelson 82-yard return touchdown with 6:05 left in the third quarter, predicated by pressure from Derek Barnett:

And then, this 36-yarder from linebacker Christian Harris on a throw Flacco telegraphed like Samuel Morse.

Flacco is the fifth quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw two pick-sixes in a postseason game…

…and he may be the only quarterback to do so on back-to-back plays.