Playing a lot of bad teams didn't matter that much to me though. The last five games of the season, the Texans beat the Falcons and Bengals, two playoff teams. They lost to the Panthers, Colts and Titans, the so-called weaker teams left on their schedule. It's hard to explain but Houston didn't show up to play the softer teams but were amped up for the good teams.

We still had a chance at a top two seed, a first-round bye, and homefield advantage going into the Panthers and Colts games. Those games weren't totally meaningless. We could be playing the Ravens in Houston on Sunday and not the other way around. I do think Houston would have beaten the Colts and Panthers if Andre Johnson played. Just having any sort of passing game would have won those games.

I'll say this much. The Texans can't afford to have many serious injuries next season. Ther 2012 schedule is brutal. Just their opponents for 2012 are out right now but they were given a first-place schedule. And the six division games will be tougher. The Colts will be good again, the Titans aren't bad and the Jaguars have a strong defense.

btw, i hope for a good game this weekend guys. I like the Texans so if they did upset us i would be upset but not rage-mad.

Anyways hope its a good game and noone dies/gets hurt.

agreed
but lets get to the championships first and then worry about next season
i alrdy have my tickets ready
and then renew my pass for next season

dont pull a ewok bro, u already quit like 5 times already

I'm ready

The Texans have the strong run game and great defense to pull the upset at Baltimore. A lot of what the Ravens do best as a team, the Texans use that same formula of success. Having Andre Johnson back will hopefully be enough to make up for not having Matt Schaub at quarterback.

In the regular-season game when Houston lost 29-14 at Baltimore, a game Andre Johnson didn't play in, neither did T.J. Yates... Arian Foster was held in check and the run game was a non-factor. We had trouble running the ball and the Baltimore safeties, Ed Reed and Bernard Pollard were both able to stack the box when they needed to. They didn't have to worry about Andre Johnson burning them deep.

T.J. Yates did make some mistakes against the Bengals. He over-threw and under-threw quite a few incomplete passes. He nearly threw a pick six interception but the Bengals defender didn't catch it. Let's hope he can be sharper with his passes against the Ravens. I don't think Gary Kubiak will hesitate to put Delhomme in the game if Yates is struggling and the game seems winnable.

This post was edited by Madmartigan on Jan 9 2012 12:49pm

6 bro. football forum sucks ass though.




all i will say is that Yates mistakes in the Bengals came would have been deadly against the Ravens. They simply don't miss opportunities like that very often. I have a feeling ed will be over Andre all game also.

Also Johnathan Joseph played his worst game of the season against the Ravens during that 29-14 loss at Baltimore. He allowed Anquan Boldin to have a monster game with 8 catches for 132 receiving yards. I expect him to do a much better job locking down Boldin in this game. The Texans got some decent pressure on Flacco, forced an interception but it wasn't enough. They only sacked him two times and allowed him to pass for over 300 yards.

Hopefully the second time is a charm. I think the Texans learned a lot by losing to the Ravens in that game. They actually took a brief 14-13 lead in the third quarter before the Ravens came alive and out-scored us 16-0 the rest of the game, including 13-0 in the 4th quarter.

A lot is at stake. This is one game. Anything can happen... The better team doesn't always win.

And I agree. if T.J. Yates plays like he did against the Bengals. The Ravens will turn those bad throws into turnovers and touchowns.

we got this

The Texans barely make the top 10 for Peter King's top 15 list, but yet they're one of the final eight teams still playing?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/peter_king/01/08/wild.card.round/2.html

8. Pittsburgh (12-5). Too beat up to compete for anything right now. But that was a heck of a comeback while it lasted. I've got to think that safety Ryan Clark, who didn't play because of his sickle-cell trait, wouldn't have sold out as much as Ryan Mundy to play the run on the first play of overtime. And then, who knows what would have happened.

9. Atlanta (10-7). The day started badly when vital cornerback Brent Grimes was declared inactive 90 minutes before the playoff game in Jersey. And it got worse.

10. Houston (11-6). The Texans can play defense.

11. Detroit (10-7). The Lions can't.

Just out of curiosity: Why on earth are the Texans not ahead of the Steelers and Falcons, two teams the Texans beat in the regular season and two teams that were eliminated in the wild-card round? Amazing how Houston continues to be slapped in the face. Why not rank the Lions ahead of the Texans also?

He must be penalizing the Texans for losing to the Panthers, Colts and Titans to end the regular season. But 11-6 still means playing in the divisional round. I guess if they upset Baltimore then Peter King will have to re-adjust his thinking.

But oh wait, didn't Denver also lose their last three regular-season games? And they're at 7 getting much respect.

7. Denver (9-8). I don't know how you watch that game -- that event -- in Denver Sunday evening and think the Tebow Broncos aren't the best, coolest, most fun story in the NFL in years.