Sizing up the Ravens AFC playoff competition

4) Houston Texans

I want to preface this segment by saying that I in no way, shape, or form think that the Houston Texans can come to M&T Bank Stadium in January and win a road playoff game.

They aren’t tough enough and are one of the most inconsistent teams in the NFL this season. But they have Deshaun Watson who is a top seven at worst QB in the NFL and the Steelers, our last competitor have Devlin Hodges, Mason Rudolph, and Shane Falco (look it up).

The Ravens have already throttled the Texans in Baltimore 41-7 racking up 491 yards of total offense and holding the Texans to 232 yards. These are their lowest numbers of the season. When I see the Texans I see a finesse team that lacks physicality throughout their offense and defense.

The Ravens should be able to impose their will on this team but because of Watson and a talented trio of wide receivers in DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller, and Kenny Stills, they come in ahead of the Steelers.

5) Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers have the worst quarterback situation on this list. Stats be ignored, they also boast the best defense on this list. Mike Tomlin is arguably the second best coach on this list behind Belichick though I would take Andy Reid over him despite the latter’s playoff struggles in the past.

But I cannot overlook the quarterback room in this ranking. It’s also important to consider that while JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner qualify as legitimate NFL weapons, their inability to stay on the field this season makes them tough to count on when January comes calling.

With that being said, the Steelers did hold the Ravens to 277 yards in what amounted to 4.5 quarters of football. They have a unit that can give the Ravens offense trouble considering their pass rushing exploits but they caught the Ravens before they had hit stride offensively as they have over the past 10 weeks.

And the QB room is a nightmare. Have I mentioned that yet?

In closing, it is certainly possible that in a one game format any of these teams can come into Baltimore and beat the Ravens. Turnovers change games, injuries could occur, and sometimes you just don’t have it (See first Browns game).  But the Ravens are heavy favorites to emerge from the AFC and compete for the Lombardi trophy for a reason. We’ll know if that comes to fruition in just over a month or so.