TEXANS-RAVENS
Breaking down Monday’s Week 12 matchup in Baltimore.
The records: Texans 4-6, Ravens 5-5 The rivalry: The Ravens have won six of eight meetings during the regular season and the only playoff game between the teams, in the 2011 divisional round. That was played in Baltimore, where the Texans are 0-4.
The coaches: The Texans’ Bill O’Brien is 31-27 in four seasons and 1-2 playoff games. The Ravens’ John Harbaugh is 90-64 in 10 seasons. He’s 10-5 in playoff games, having taken Baltimore to the postseason six times, most recently in 2014. His 2012 team won the Super Bowl. How they compare: Offensively, the Texans are 12th in yards gained (sixth rushing, 17th passing) and sixth in points scored. The Ravens are 31st in yards gained (13th rushing, 32nd passing) and 17th in points scored. Defensively, the Texans are 20th in yards allowed (seventh rushing, 26th passing) and 30th in points allowed. The Ravens are sixth in yards allowed (26th rushing, second passing) and third in points allowed. Plot lines: The only non-AFC South venue in which the Texans have historically fared worse than Baltimore’s is New England’s, and the Ravens’ stingy pass defense, ranked second only to Jacksonville’s in yards allowed, figures to make it a challenging night for Tom Savage, who’s seeking his first win in a start away from Houston.
Six degrees of separation: Former Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett — who started six games in 2014 and 2015 in Houston — is in his second full season as Joe Flacco’s backup and has played in two games for the Ravens, completing 9 of 16 passes for 56 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
Trending: The Texans have turned the ball over 10 times in their past four games while coming up with only four takeaways themselves. They have lost their past three road games after beating the Bengals in Cincinnati in the week 2 Thursday night game. Only Browns rookie Deshone Kizer (14) has suffered more interceptions than Flacco’s 11. Flacco has thrown 43 touchdown passes and 38 picks over the past three seasons.
Go figure: The Texans are 14-25 in nationally televised games with a 4-7 record on Monday Night Football. They are 5-10 under O’Brien in games on national TV. DeAndre Hopkins leads the NFL with nine touchdown catches and is tied for third with 15 receptions of 15 or more yards. Despite playing in only six games, Will Fuller is second in TD catches behind Hopkins. Lamar Miller is 10th in rushing with 604 yards. Jacoby Brissett, Jared Goff and Blaine Gabbert have averaged more than 300 yards per game passing against the Texans over the last three weeks. Worth pondering: Can the Texans go to a stadium where they’ve had no success over the years and find a way to keep themselves in the playoff hunt?