Ravens Light Up The Texans 41-13

The Baltimore Ravens faced the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium this past Sunday. The Ravens beat the Texans 41-13. The Ravens dominated this game offensively and defensively. The Ravens moved to 6-3 on the season. The Ravens offense moved the ball effectively all day. Finally for the first time this season TE Todd Heap got more involved in the offense. Heap finished with 5 receptions for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Flacco kept finding Heap and looking for him often throughout the game. Flacco is starting to be more confident in receivers other then Derrick Mason. The Ravens running backs had another terrific game and Ray Rice was quoted early this week saying the Ravens running backs are the “three headed monster. Sunday, they were just that. DT Haloti Ngata is becoming an elite defensive lineman in the NFL. He is making plays all over the field and just clogging up the middle for the opposing offense. QB Joe Flacco continued to be impressive this week and keeps showing that he can be an elite quarterback in this league.

The ravens took the early 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 43-yard pass from Joe Flacco to WR Yarmon Figurs. Figurs was in the game because of an injury to WR Derrick Mason. Mason was only sidelined for about a quarter then he returned. On the ensuing Texans drive they got good push on the Ravens and brought the ball down to the one. Then DT Haloti Ngata picked of QB Sage Rosenfals and took away points from the Texans. On the next Texans drive rookie RB Steve Slaton ran for a 52-yard TD but it was called back on a holding penalty from TE Owen Daniels. The Texans ended up scoring on the drive but it was only a field goal (23-yards) to put the game at 7-3. On the next Ravens drive the Ravens were forced to punt but P Sam Koch put the ball inside the five. The Ravens defense came up big and got a safety to put the game at 9-3. A 54-yard field goal by Ravens rookie K Steven Hauska answered by a 48-yard field goal by the Texans put the game at 12-6 going into half.

The Ravens started off the scoring in the second half on a 1-yard run by Willis McGahee. The touchdown was set up by good movement form the Ravens offense and they showed they were ready to play in the second half. The Texans later in the quarter had a 60-yard TD from QB Sage Rosenfels to WR Kevin Walter. The Texans put the game at 19-13 for the Ravens at the end of the third quarter. The fourth quarter was all Ravens. With help from a couple Houston secondary penalties the Ravens got their first TD of the second half, which was a 1-yard pass from Flacco to TE Todd Heap. The Ravens made a two-point conversion to put the lead at two touchdowns. After an interception from Ray Lewis his second of the day the Ravens got another touchdown. It was a 14-yard pass from QB Troy Smith to TE Todd Heap and QB Joe Flacco lined up at wide receiver on the play. The final score of the day was a 4-yard run by RB Willis McGahee. The TD came after a Samari Rolle interception. The final score Ravens 41 and the Texans 13.

The Ravens offense had another great performance this week and continues to light up defences. Next week will be their big test when they face the NY Giants. The Ravens running backs had another strong performance this week. After not getting any carries last week RB Willis McGahee was the main piece of the Ravens offense on Sunday. McGahee 25 rushes for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie RB Ray Rice wasn’t as involved as last week but still had 7 rushes for 17 yards. FB Le’ron McClain had 4 rushes for 19 yards. WR Derrick Mason finished with 3 catches for 41 yards. Mason suffered a shoulder strain in the first quarter when he landed awkwardly on his elbow but he did return a quarter later. The Ravens offensive line had another big game protecting Flacco and creating holes in the run game. The Ravens defense had another big game where they came up with 4 interceptions and just completely shutdown the Texans. The Ravens defense shutdown WR Andre Johnson as well.

Overall it was another good performance by the Ravens to put their winning streak at 4. But it only gets tougher from here as the Ravens have to face the Giants on the road next week. We will get to see if the Ravens are for real in the next couple games they play and how they play down the stretch.

Regular Season Schedule

Week 1: Sunday, Sept. 7 Vs. Bengals W (17-10)

Week 2: Bye

Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 21 Vs. Browns W (28-10)

Week 4: Monday, Sept. 29 @ Steelers L (23-20 OT)

Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 5 Vs. Titans L (13-10)

Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 12 @ Colts L (31-3)

Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 19 @ Dolphins W (27-13)

Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 26 Vs. Raiders W (29-10)

Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 2 @ Browns W (37-27)

Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 9 @ Texans W (41-13)

Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 16 @ Giants 1:00 p.m. CBS

Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 23 Vs. Eagles 1:00 p.m. FOX

Week 13: Sunday, Nov. 30 @ Bengals 1:00 p.m. CBS

Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 7 Vs. Redskins 1:00 p.m. FOX

Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 14 Vs. Steelers 1:00 p.m. CBS

Week 16: Saturday, Dec. 20 @ Cowboys 8:15 p.m. NFL Network

Week 17: Sunday, Dec. 28 Vs. Jaguars 1:00 p.m. CBS

*Games subjected to change

*All times eastern

Email me at: tylerferguson@sportstalkbuzz.com

Ty

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