Site Expert: Richard Bradshaw
The Baltimore Ravens taking on the Houston Texans should be primetime football, but this matchup was somehow overlooked this offseason when the schedule makers were setting up primetime games. Seriously, even without hindsight how do you not have two of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the NFL squaring off against each other as a must-watch, nationally televised game? Ugh…
Anyways, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens facing off against Deshaun Watson and the Texans could be the best offensive game of the 2019 season. You have two MVP quarterbacks with explosive playmakers on offense set to go back-and-forth all game long.
I tell you this, yet I am here to say that the focus will be on the defenses instead.
The winner of this game will come down to who makes the least amount of mistakes. The team that turns the ball over most will lose, because there will be very little room for error. Where there’s some games where you can get away with turning the ball over because your defense is good, this game is simply giving the other offense an extra possession. There won’t be many punts or defensive stops in this game, folks.
That’s why I am giving the edge to the team with the better defense. The Ravens secondary will make life hard on Watson, even with DeAndre Hopkins at his disposal. Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters will give him hell for 60 minutes and I suspect that they can force Watson into a mistake or two…
Chalk this up as Watson’s “worst” game of 2019, as I expect him to still throw the ball masterfully. Nonetheless, he won’t be perfect and I predict the Ravens to take full advantage of any extra opportunities given to them.
Bold prediction: Marcus Peters records fourth pick-six of 2019, Ravens force three turnovers
Score prediction: Ravens 30 Texans 24