The Baltimore Ravens beat the Houston Texans earlier this season, but the two teams will square off again in the playoffs. In the first meeting, the Texans didn't have Andre Johnson but they did have starting quarterback Matt Schaub. In the rematch, the Texans have Andre Johnson but they don't have Schaub. While T.J. Yates has been more than serviceable, Sports Illustrated's Peter King isn't so sure it will be enough to beat the Ravens.
Joe Flacco's right: He's never going to have the big numbers in the Baltimore offense -- but that's not only because the Ravens have a great runner in Ray Rice. It's because Flacco hasn't progressed as a passer the way the team had hoped. His 57.6-percent accuracy was 25th in the league this year, and how are you going to have your offensive coordinator and your head coach trust you to be a bombs-away guy when you're completing passes at a Kevin Kolb rate? I think Rice out-runs Arian Foster here anyway. Ravens 30, Texans 20.
For more on the Ravens, check out SB Nation's Baltimore Beatdown and for more on theTexans check out Battle Red Blog. Here's a look at the complete 2012 NFL playoffs schedule.