Isaiah Stumpf makes his pick:
In what’s arguably the hardest remaining game of the season, the Ravens are looking to build off one of the more impressive winning streaks in the John Harbaugh era. Sitting at 7-2, Baltimore has won five straight games, out scoring opponents 165 to 89 over that span. During the streak, the Ravens have beaten three divisional foes, the 8-2 Seattle Seahawks, and the 8-1 New England Patriots. That’s an extremely impressive five weeks for any team, but even more so for a team that looked lost on defense and a bit stagnant in offense after two straight losses.
However, here we are in week 10 with Baltimore holding the second seed in the playoffs and looking to put a bit of a tighter squeeze on their position. They’ll get the perfect opportunity to do so Sunday against the Houston Texans. Houston currently sits one game back of the Ravens in the AFC at 6-3. Deshaun Watson enters Baltimore with some bad intentions, looking to earn themselves a tie breaking win and steal that second seed with 6 games to play.
The Texans have the leagues fourth best offense in terms of total yards and tenth in scoring. Watson is directly in the middle of the MVP race, even if the national media refuses to give him the same attention they are giving Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson. Watson has 18 touchdowns to only 5 interceptions, while completing just over 70% of his passes. Baltimore’s defense will face arguably their greatest challenge yet. The defense did a complete 360 degree spin after a few key additions and getting healthy. The Texans offense is legit. Baltimore will have to play at their highest level in order to contain the dangerous, Watson led offense.
The defense in the other hand leaves much to be desired. Houston has the 19th overall defense, including 29th in passing. Jackson and the Ravens’ high powered offense will have their opportunities through the air, while hopefully finding some hidden holes on the ground. The Ravens are the number one scoring team in the NFL (something I never thought I’d utter), and will look to put that ranking on display Sunday.
I believe this game will be a shootout. Watson and Jackson will show why both deserve to be at the top of the MVP discussion and they will show why Sunday.
Prediction- Ravens 38, Texans 24