Someone must have heard our prayers finally because for the first time in… well, ever under John Harbaugh, the Ravens will have a Monday Night Football game… at home. And what could make it even better? The Ravens are coming fresh off of a shutout over the Green Bay Packers and open up as a touchdown favorite against the Houston Texans. Somehow, someway, the Ravens actually feel in control of their own destiny to the playoffs at this point and securing a win over Houston to go two games above .500 would go a very long way in helping the Ravens guide their own fate.
Fortunately for the Ravens, the Houston Texans just might be as banged up as the Packers were. Deshaun Watson, the front-runner for ORoY, tore his ACL in a loss against the Seahawks in a crushing blow to the Texans offense. Add in the trade of Dwayne Brown, the loss of Deonte Foreman, the loss of Whitney Mercilus, the loss of JJ Watt, and the loss of Brian Cushing due to PED’s, and this Texans team looks… well, really weak. Much like last week, this is a team that is easily beatable on paper. However, as the Cardinals found out last week, what makes sense on paper is not what always happens when the game plays out.
With that said, let us take a look at this week’s key match-ups:
Jadeveon Clowney vs Whoever Lines Up at Tackle for the Ravens: At this point, the Ravens are facing the very scary possibility that both Ronnie Stanley and Austin Howard are out for the Ravens. If both are out, that pushes James Hurst to left tackle, Luke Bowanko to left guard, and Andrew Donnal (who?) to right tackle. With only Ryan Jensen as a quality player left on that line, I fear for the health of Joe Flacco if neither Stanley nor Howard can play.
Prior to Thursday night football, Jadeveon Clowney led the league with a combined 20.0 tackles for loss and sacks. Top that off with many more quarterback hits and pressures as the only real pass rush threat on the Houston Texans and you begin to get pretty scared (is it just me or do Joe Flacco’s cleats smell like pee?). Clowney, the first overall pick in the very stacked 2014 draft, began to realize his potential last year and is taking it to another level this year. Seriously, when Watt and Mercilus get healthy, will it even be fair to combine them with this new Clowney?
Clowney is about to be a one man wrecking crew on Monday night if Howard and Stanley are out. Even if just Howard is out, I fear for James Matador Hurst. This game could get really ugly really fast for the Ravens offense if they cannot slow down Clowney.
The Ravens Pass Rush vs The Texans Offensive Line: Similar to the Ravens, the Texans have a lot of issues going on up front with their offensive line. With Chris Clark entrenched as the starter at left tackle and Breno Giancomini set to start at right tackle, the Texans just do not have a quality offensive line from left to right across the board and I expect this Ravens pass rush to absolutely feast.
Willie Henry and Matt Judon are both coming off two sack performances and Judon was named AFC defensive player of the week for his heroics against the Packers where he showed a complete game and a pass rush that was sorely lacking earlier in the year. If Henry and Judon can keep up their high level of play and pair it with the ever sold Terrell Suggs, Tom Savage may not make it out of the game.
I truly expect the pass rushes to rule the day when these two teams face off, but three good pass rushers should be able to outclass one amazing pass rusher in this Monday night bout.
DeAndre Hopkins vs Jimmy Smith: I will almost never actually single out two players going head to head, but this has got to be the most exciting match up of the entire game.
DeAndre Hopkins, a player that almost every single Ravens fan wanted in 2013, has been one of the lone bright spots of an otherwise abysmal 2013 draft class. With a rare combination of speed, size, and body control, Hopkins has incredible traits and intangibles that make Hopkins the consummate number one wide receiver in the NFL. Patrick Peterson, who had allowed no touchdowns and the fewest catches in the NFL, was beat by Hopkins for four catches for 76 yards and one touchdown. Against the Seahawks and Richard Sherman, the NFL’s self-proclaimed greatest cornerback, Hopkins went off for eight catches for 224 yards and a touchdown. Against Marcus Peters and the Chiefs, Hopkins had a quiet four catches for 52 yards… and three touchdowns. Truly, it does not seem to matter whom Hopkins faces up with because he has been beating the best.
That is, until he meets Jimmy Smith on Monday Night Football. According to our friends over at Pro Football Focus, Jimmy Smith has given up just 17 catches for 154 yards and has three interceptions on the year. It did not matter if it was Antonio Brown, AJ Green, Amari Cooper this season or Calvin Johnson and Julio Jones in seasons past- Jimmy Smith will not back down and he will shut you down. He is an absolute force this season and has been nothing short of spectacular.
Who wins when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? I suppose we will find out on Monday (PS, it will be Jimmy).
Final Score Prediction
I expect a really ugly game. Nothing about this screams anything easy for the Ravens offense and the defense will have its hands full stopping Deandre Hopkins. But overall, the Ravens, surprisingly, are a healthier team with a better quarterback, which is really saying something about the Texans as a team right now. I expect a very close, very ugly game.
Houston Texans: 10, Baltimore Ravens: 17
Fortunately for the Ravens, the Houston Texans just might be as banged up as the Packers were. Deshaun Watson, the front-runner for ORoY, tore his ACL in a loss against the Seahawks in a crushing blow to the Texans offense. Add in the trade of Dwayne Brown, the loss of Deonte Foreman, the loss of Whitney Mercilus, the loss of JJ Watt, and the loss of Brian Cushing due to PED’s, and this Texans team looks… well, really weak. Much like last week, this is a team that is easily beatable on paper. However, as the Cardinals found out last week, what makes sense on paper is not what always happens when the game plays out.
With that said, let us take a look at this week’s key match-ups:
Jadeveon Clowney vs Whoever Lines Up at Tackle for the Ravens: At this point, the Ravens are facing the very scary possibility that both Ronnie Stanley and Austin Howard are out for the Ravens. If both are out, that pushes James Hurst to left tackle, Luke Bowanko to left guard, and Andrew Donnal (who?) to right tackle. With only Ryan Jensen as a quality player left on that line, I fear for the health of Joe Flacco if neither Stanley nor Howard can play.
Prior to Thursday night football, Jadeveon Clowney led the league with a combined 20.0 tackles for loss and sacks. Top that off with many more quarterback hits and pressures as the only real pass rush threat on the Houston Texans and you begin to get pretty scared (is it just me or do Joe Flacco’s cleats smell like pee?). Clowney, the first overall pick in the very stacked 2014 draft, began to realize his potential last year and is taking it to another level this year. Seriously, when Watt and Mercilus get healthy, will it even be fair to combine them with this new Clowney?
Clowney is about to be a one man wrecking crew on Monday night if Howard and Stanley are out. Even if just Howard is out, I fear for James Matador Hurst. This game could get really ugly really fast for the Ravens offense if they cannot slow down Clowney.
The Ravens Pass Rush vs The Texans Offensive Line: Similar to the Ravens, the Texans have a lot of issues going on up front with their offensive line. With Chris Clark entrenched as the starter at left tackle and Breno Giancomini set to start at right tackle, the Texans just do not have a quality offensive line from left to right across the board and I expect this Ravens pass rush to absolutely feast.
Willie Henry and Matt Judon are both coming off two sack performances and Judon was named AFC defensive player of the week for his heroics against the Packers where he showed a complete game and a pass rush that was sorely lacking earlier in the year. If Henry and Judon can keep up their high level of play and pair it with the ever sold Terrell Suggs, Tom Savage may not make it out of the game.
I truly expect the pass rushes to rule the day when these two teams face off, but three good pass rushers should be able to outclass one amazing pass rusher in this Monday night bout.
DeAndre Hopkins vs Jimmy Smith: I will almost never actually single out two players going head to head, but this has got to be the most exciting match up of the entire game.
DeAndre Hopkins, a player that almost every single Ravens fan wanted in 2013, has been one of the lone bright spots of an otherwise abysmal 2013 draft class. With a rare combination of speed, size, and body control, Hopkins has incredible traits and intangibles that make Hopkins the consummate number one wide receiver in the NFL. Patrick Peterson, who had allowed no touchdowns and the fewest catches in the NFL, was beat by Hopkins for four catches for 76 yards and one touchdown. Against the Seahawks and Richard Sherman, the NFL’s self-proclaimed greatest cornerback, Hopkins went off for eight catches for 224 yards and a touchdown. Against Marcus Peters and the Chiefs, Hopkins had a quiet four catches for 52 yards… and three touchdowns. Truly, it does not seem to matter whom Hopkins faces up with because he has been beating the best.
That is, until he meets Jimmy Smith on Monday Night Football. According to our friends over at Pro Football Focus, Jimmy Smith has given up just 17 catches for 154 yards and has three interceptions on the year. It did not matter if it was Antonio Brown, AJ Green, Amari Cooper this season or Calvin Johnson and Julio Jones in seasons past- Jimmy Smith will not back down and he will shut you down. He is an absolute force this season and has been nothing short of spectacular.
Who wins when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? I suppose we will find out on Monday (PS, it will be Jimmy).
Final Score Prediction
I expect a really ugly game. Nothing about this screams anything easy for the Ravens offense and the defense will have its hands full stopping Deandre Hopkins. But overall, the Ravens, surprisingly, are a healthier team with a better quarterback, which is really saying something about the Texans as a team right now. I expect a very close, very ugly game.
Houston Texans: 10, Baltimore Ravens: 17
