Ravens escape with win
Playoff hopes remain alive
BALTIMORE — Terrell Suggs led an aggressive Baltimore defense that kept Houston out of the end zone for the final 51 minutes, and the Ravens went deep in the playbook on offense to squeeze out a 23-16 victory on Monday night.
The win gives Baltimore the inside track for the No. 6 and final playoff seed in the AFC.
In a year of mediocrity in the AFC, the Ravens improved to 6-5 and take over the No. 6 seed from the Buffalo Bills with five weeks remaining.
Baltimore holds the tiebreaker over Buffalo with a better conference record (5-3).
Baltimore’s path to its first playoff berth since 2014 remains firmly in its grasp.
The Ravens play three of their final five games at home and face only two teams with winning records.
The Ravens forced three turnovers, two in the final five minutes.
After Suggs stripped the ball from quarterback Tom Savage and Baltimore recovered, Justin Tucker kicked his third field goal with 2:53 remaining for a seven-point cushion.
Anthony Levine then intercepted a Savage pass to clinch it.
Suggs had two sacks, Alex Collins ran for 60 yards and a touchdown and punter Sam Koch threw perhaps Baltimore’s most significant pass of the game.
Baltimore coach John Harbaugh called for a fake punt, converted a fourth down with a rarely used pitchout and had quarterback Joe Flacco line up at wide receiver on a play in which Collins took a direct snap.
All of this added spice to a stagnant offense that protected the ball and did just enough to win.
Flacco was 20-of-32 for 141 yards against a Texans defense known for giving up big pass plays. Baltimore was 3-of-14 on third downs (21.4 percent).
The Ravens (6-5) have won consecutive games for the first time since they opened the season 20, and they are now above .500 for the first time since Oct. 8.
Houston (4-7) has lost four of five. Savage has started the past four games in place of injured rookie starter DeShaun Watson.
Savage completed 22 of 37 passes for 252 yards. But he was picked off twice by the Ravens, who increased their NFL-leading total to 18.