The Texans have had plenty to celebrate this season. A win in Baltimore would only add to the success.
Quite often the storylines leading into a playoff football game matter little once the game begins.
You know, the pressure on a quarterback to win a big game. Whether an injury replacement can hold his own. How will a young player handle postseason intensity?
Can the upstart Texans pull off a second straight upset? These Texans have been making believers out of doubters all season.
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They have already changed perception of this year’s team. Saturday’s game against Baltimore for the right to go to the AFC Championship Game could change the view of the organization.
“A lot of people are excited about the Texans and what the men in this locker room have done on the field to get this city excited about the Texans again,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “That’s what it’s all about.
“Our guys have done a tremendous job of regaining that respect, regaining that pride in our team. That’s one thing I wanted to do when I took over here.”
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A win this week — the Texans have never advanced past this round of the playoffs — and Texans’ pride will overflow.
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It would be a great victory, particularly considering the opponent and the weather.
The game will not be decided by the weather. But even without a jersey, weather will be a player in Saturday’s game.
There was a winter storm warning in Baltimore on Friday, with up to six inches of snow falling during the day. Forecasts say at kickoff, the temperature will be in the mid-20s, with a wind-chill factor in the low teens.
It will be brutally cold.
These Texans, who have answered the challenge to become one of the last eight standing, will have to beat the Ravens and the wind.
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The Texans are surprisingly good in freezing weather, going 4-1 when the temperature is 30 degrees or lower.
Oddly enough, while the Texans practiced in frigid temperatures earlier in the week, the cold-weather Ravens took their practice inside on Tuesday because their outdoor field was frozen.
Baltimore has had plenty of practice working in conditions similar to what the teams will face Saturday.
“It was pretty cold the last couple of weeks (with) a lot of wind, so that’s been good for us,” Baltimore head coach John Harbaugh said. “I kind of feel good about that.
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“I don’t think it’s going to be a determiner. We just have to deal with it as we deal with it and do what we do, and try to do it well.”
BY THE NUMBERS: Breaking down Texans vs. Patriots.
Interception returns for touchdowns by Steven Nelson and Christian Harris turned last week’s Texans wild card game against Cleveland into a rout. That statistic will be important again on Saturday, and it’ll be strength on strength.
The Ravens led the league in takeaways, the Texans finished first with the fewest turnovers.
The Texans have never lost a playoff game when they win the turnover battle.
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When Houston played the Ravens in a divisional round matchup in 2012, they did not force a turnover, but committed four, including a costly fumble on a punt return that setup a two-yard touchdown drive. Baltimore won the game by just seven points.
This is an area in which Texans’ rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud excels. He was the best in the league in interception percentage with just five picks in 499 pass attempts.
The Ravens’ Lamar Jackson was right behind him with only seven interceptions and the Ravens led the NFL with just those picks. The Texans had a total of eight with case Keenum throwing three when Stroud missed two games.
Upon his return was when the Texans hit their stride.
Teams want to be playing their best football this time of year and the Texans have been doing that.
They have won three straight games, dominating the Titans 26-3, squeezing out a win over the Colts 23-19 and running past Cleveland 45-14.
The Colts and Browns beat Houston earlier in the season. Texans’ coaches dissected video of those games, determined what went wrong and put together a winning game plan for the rematch.
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It won’t be as easy against the 13-4 Ravens, who have the NFL’s top scoring defense.
Baltimore was playing better than any team in football, rolling through a five-game winning streak, beating five teams that finished with winning records. But they rested most of their starters in the season finale that they lost, then had a bye week as the No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
“That was the thing about that bye week, I thought, ‘Dang, we have a bye week,’” Jackson said. “We were getting into a groove. We were getting more and more dialed in. But it is what it is.
“Coach still made us practice as if we were preparing for a game. I believe we will still be ready.”
The cold team in cold weather is favored by 9½ points over the hot team from the hot town.
The Texans say they won’t let the weather beat em. Now, about those Ravens …
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