Baltimore needs to get a win to move on to Championship Sunday. How do they get it done? Let’s talk about it with this playoff edition of four downs.
First Down: Turning over the Texans
C.J. Stroud is a rookie quarterback who is unlike most rookie quarterbacks. The Texans leader has had an incredible season with over 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, and five interceptions. If nothing else, the 2023-2024 season showed that Stroud has the chance to be special and the Ravens have to respect his talents. The thing that makes him different than most rookie quarterbacks is that he’s an expert at taking care of the football. He’s only been intercepted five times. He’s accurate and he goes through his reads like he’s been doing it as long as Lamar Jackson. The Ravens led the NFL in takeaways, this season. Can they make Stroud make uncharacteristic mistakes with the football?
The Texans are good, yet they don’t have the balance that the Ravens have. The Ravens’ path to the Super Bowl rests on the fact that they have an MVP Quarterback and a championship-caliber defense. If the Ravens can give Jackson an extra possession or two in this game, a possession created by a turnover, the Texans’ defense could become overtaxed. Not counting the Wild Card round, the Texans score 22.04 points per game and give up 20.8 points per game. This is a statistical way of saying that they’ve been in a lot of close games. Winning the turnover battle has been a big part of that. If the Ravens can’t get Stroud to give them the football, they have to be aggressive punching the ball out. The Ravens take it away, the Texans keep it. One trend has to be busted.
Second Down: Learning From Past Mistakes
Nobody said anything about this game being easy. The Ravens are the favorites. Cool. Now they have to play a football game – nothing outside the sidelines matters once the game is kicked off. The Ravens have to come to this game with the right mindset. In 2019, panic set in quickly and it undermined the entire gameplan for the Ravens. The Ravens made the right decision to part with Greg Roman after last season. With Todd Monken calling the shots, Baltimore has multiple ways to win. Another thing that sets this coaching staff apart from previous years is the ability to make adjustments that change the game. If the Texans come out with an incredible punch they may surprise the Ravens, they just won’t have them befuddled. Remember the game against the Dolphins? It looked like Miami was going to run away with it but Mike Macdonald figured things out and Monken got his offense into rhythm. It was the Ravens that ran away with it in convincing fashion. The Ravens don’t want a bad start obviously, yet this team is ready for anything.
There’s a lot about this team that screams that this isn’t the same old Ravens. John Harbaugh has actively been applying the lessons from the past into this season. The 2017 London game was a disaster with the team looking like zombies. This year the Ravens left early for their London game and it made a huge difference. Harbaugh has tweaked the practice schedule from what he did in 2019. The long rest for the starters may not equate to as much rust. Expect the Ravens to come into the game with complete focus. They’ve earned some trust going into this game.
Third Down: Pressure on the secondary with Humphrey listed as out
Marlon Humphrey will not be able to play in the Divisional Round game. This puts a lot of pressure on the defensive backs. The good news for the Ravens is that Brandon Stephens and Ronald Darby have been playing very solid football. As long as the Ravens have All-Pro Kyle Hamilton, the Ravens should have a suitable way to match up with every look. The Texans’ offense is explosive yet the Dolphins and 49ers had more speed and more play-makers. Humphrey would certainly help but it isn’t a deal-breaker for the Ravens. Baltimore has 18 interceptions this season with Geno Stone, Kyle Hamilton, and Brandon Stephens accounting for 13 of them. Stephens may be the most improved player this season and Hamilton took the big year-two jump that Baltimore hoped for. Without Humphrey the Ravens secondary still has plenty of bite.
Fourth Down: Andrews isn’t back, lean on Isaiah Likely
If Mark Andrews comes back it could have been a huge deal for the offense. He’s a big and reliable target who is easily one of the best at his position.
The Ravens offense somehow took off without Andrews. Isiah Likely has been filling in for Andrews perfectly. Let’s keep getting number 80 the ball, win this week, and Andrews will be a key piece of the postseason run whenever he does return.
