BOLD PREDICTIONS: Ravens at Texans

Time for Ravens vs. Texans predictions at RSR! It’s a Christmas Day battle between 2024 playoff teams when the Baltimore Ravens (10-5) visit the Houston Texans (9-6) on Wednesday. With two regular season games remaining, the Ravens and Steelers are tied atop the AFC North standings, while Houston is first in the AFC South with a two-game lead over Indy.

Wednesday marks the third game that both the Ravens and Texans will have played in 11 days. This matchup is part of a holiday double-header that also features Kansas City at Pittsburgh.

Including playoffs, Baltimore is 12-2 all time against the Texans. The Ravens have won five straight games in this series, including last season’s 34-10 Divisional Playoff in Baltimore. Will the Ravens make it 13-2 and advance to (11-5) on the season?

• Kickoff: Wednesday, December 25, 2024, at 4:30PM, NRG Stadium, Houston, TX
• Forecast: Dome Stadium
• Betting Line: Ravens minus 5 ½, over/under at 46 ½.
• On the Call: Noah Eagle (PBP), Greg Olsen (analyst), Jamie Erdahl (sideline), Steve Wyche (sideline)
• Networks: Netflix and WJZ-TV, Channel 13 in Baltimore

Here are your Ravens vs. Texans predictions, c/o RSR.

Tony Lombardi

There’s nothing about this game that seems right. Forcing a team to play in a brawl against their archrival on a Saturday; shipping them off to Houston on a Tuesday; and then expecting them to perform well on Wednesday is a tough ask, particularly during Week 17 when not a single player is feeling 100%. But let’s not forget that Commissioner Roger Greedell places a premium on player safety. Yeah, right! He’s The Grinch Who Sold Christmas!

But it is what it is and if the Ravens can steal a dub in Houston, they’ll have some time to rest up for Week 18 at home against the Browns on January 5. So, with that said, how will this one play out?

• Lamar Jackson is (3-0) v. the Texans and sports a passer rating of 117.3 against Houston. Lamar averages 198 yards by air against the Texans and 57 by ground. He’ll throw for 240 yards, rush for 65 and connect with 3 different receivers for scores.

• In 14 career games against the Texans, Derrick Henry has averaged 102.2 yards per game and 5.7 yards per carry. He’s also eclipsed the 200-yard mark in four straight games against the Texans between 2019 and 2022. This time around he’ll hit the 150 mark and score from 20 yards out.

• Keaton Mitchell will do some damage in this one late in the game, rushing for 50 yards and a score.

• The Ravens will post nearly 500 yards of offense.

• The Texans are nicked up at WR, but Nico Collins is always a threat. He’ll haul in 8 passes for 140 yards including a score from 40+ yards.

• RB Joe Mixon will present some problems as a receiver. He’ll rack up 130 yards from scrimmage including two scores.

• Beyonce is scheduled to play at halftime – a 20-minute break v. the normal 12-minute half. Look for halftime to actually be 22 minutes and there will be no power outage, while the Ravens hold a 17-10 halftime lead.

This one will be a shootout, but the hosts don’t have the ammo to keep up. The win coupled with a Steelers loss against the Chiefs gives the Ravens sole possession of first place in The North.

Ravens 38, Texans 24

[Related Article: The Week 16 Big Crab Cake]

Rob Shields

Two of the most difficult games of the year are the ones that are after the Steelers games due to the physicality of that clash. Not only are the Ravens traveling and playing a playoff team after a Pittsburgh matchup, they are doing it on a short week.

Of course, Houston is also on a short week and they suffered some huge losses in their game against KC, including WR Tank Dell, C.J. Stroud‘s best friend. It was an awful injury and the Texans were understandably deflated in its wake.

Houston boasts an excellent pass defense led by Derek Stingley Jr., as well as an excellent pass rush that features two double-digit sack rush ends. That will pose a challenge to the Ravens, although Roger Rosengarten is playing at a high level and Ronnie Stanley has been solid all year (although he did have a rough game vs Alex Highsmith).

Ultimately, I think the Ravens are just the better and more talented team. The Texans O-line has been an issue all year and they lost another starter last week. I think Baltimore’s defensive line can control this game and the offense, playing on a short week, does enough in what I suspect to be kind of an ugly, low-scoring game.

Ravens 20 Texans 13

Chad Racine

The Ravens are looking the best they have all season and it couldn’t come at a better time. The defensive struggles lasted late into the season and it was very concerning. The always reliable Justin Tucker was not only unreliable, he became a major liability. He also looks like his struggles may be behind him. The Ravens are getting hot at just the right time.

– Lamar will make another case why he should be MV3. He’ll pass for four touchdowns and 275 yards. He’ll also rush for another 75 coming just short of Michael Vick‘s record.

– Keaton Mitchell will take advantage of his opportunity, showing why he should’ve been active in recent weeks.  He’ll have a couple explosive runs for over 10 yards and have over 50 for the day in his limited carries.

– Mark Andrews continues his hot streak with two touchdowns and 65 yards.

– Isaiah Likely and Rashod Bateman will be the other touchdown recipients, also continuing their respective hot streaks.

– Travis Jones will have a sack forced fumble recovered by Roquan Smith.

– Ar’Darius Washington makes another  game-changing splash play with an interception.

Ravens 31 Texans 21

John Hughey

The Ravens played with a swagger against the Steelers that hasn’t been seen in quite some time. Could the reawakening of the defense be exactly what this team was missing? Wednesday will be another test, as the Ravens head to Houston to battle the Texans for their second straight Christmas Day game. Both teams come in on a short week, getting ready for their third game in 10 days. A win keeps Baltimore’s hopes at the AFC North title more than alive.

— Derrick Henry returns to the end zone for the first time in four games

— Baltimore’s run defense stays hot, holding Mixon to under 70 yards on the ground

— Jackson tosses for 225+ and passes the 4k mark for the first time in his career

— The Ravens secondary continues their hot streak, forcing two turnovers

Ravens 31 Texans 20

Chris Schisler

I think the Ravens are coming off the kind of win that propels them forward. The Ravens showed that they can be counted on in the big moment. Give me the Ravens to do what they did last Christmas and blow the doors off of the Texans.

I like the matchup because I don’t think the Texans have an answer for Lamar Jackson. Don’t get me wrong, the Texans have a great defense. I just don’t see them having an answer for Jackson the way that he is playing. They certainly don’t have an answer for him AND Derrick Henry.

Look for Lamar Jackson to have an MVP-level performance that sinks a very valiant effort by the Texans and their adoring crowd.

Predictions

• Lamar Jackson has four touchdowns
• Jackson breaks a 50 yard run (He’s due)
• Henry rushes for 125
• Flowers has six receptions and a touchdown
• Kyle Hamilton forces a fumble
• Marlon Humphrey has a pick

Ravens 41 Texans 28

Derek Arnold

I think we’re in for a sloppy one, with both teams coming off short weeks with some key players injured. While the Ravens are riding high after beating Pittsburgh, a letdown after those games isn’t uncommon. For Houston, they’re dealing with both the disappointment of losing what looked to be a winnable game in Kansas City (hey, we can relate) and the emotional toll of what happened to Tank Dell.

This one is tied at 10-10 at the half, but the Ravens put together three scoring drives in the second half, while Houston manages just a field goal over the final 30.

Ravens 23 Texans 13

Give us your Ravens vs Texans predictions below!

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