The Beatdown gang react to the Ravens defeating the Houston Texans
The Ravens soundly defeat the Houston Texans after they dominate the second half and send the Texans to the offseason with a final score of 34-10. Below are the reactions from the Beatdown staff.
For the first time in franchise history, the Baltimore Ravens will host a playoff game. Hats off to Offensive Coordinator Todd Monken and quarterback Lamar Jackson. The adjustments in the second half proved these aren’t the “same old Ravens.” They finished the second half by scoring on all four drives, with touchdowns coming on the first three. The defense stonewalled the red-hot Texans offense all game, allowing only three points. The Ravens special teams needs cleaned up, and I expect Head Coach John Harbaugh will do so as they prepare to HOST AN AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME! — Kyle Phoenix
The Ravens are heading to the AFC championship for the first time since the Obama administration after a decade-plus drought. They exercised the demons of past failures from the huge letdown of the 2019 divisional round to the fumble in the jungle in 2022. After a week of fearing the rest over rust debate from the outside during their bye week, they still look like the class of not just the AFC but the entire league. There was absolutely no rust on defense as they held the red-hot Texans to just a field goal and after an uneven first half, the offense found an answer to negate Houston’s blitzes and pressures and turned up in the second half. Lamar Jackson was sensational and once again proved why he is the clear cut choice to receive his second league MVP honors with over 250 yards of total offense including 100 on the ground and four touchdowns. The road to the Super Bowl will still have to come through the BANK. — Josh Reed
The Baltimore Ravens are headed to the AFC Championship game. Just breathe it in. It started rough, the offense looked clunky. It was almost like a combination of the 2019 Ravens playoff game versus the Titans with how out of sync the offense looked and the 2021 Dolphins Thursday Night Football game with the Ravens not having answers versus the blitz. But those who watched the season didn’t panic. They knew
The defense was solid the entire game. The only points let up was field goal off of a bad punt from Jordan Stout. The only question was could the offense put up enough. After a bad first half, Todd Monken adjusted. He accounted for blitz and Lamar made it count. Lamar did a great job starting destroy the playoff narrative about him. Now it’s time to continue in the first ever AFC Championship Game as the Baltimore Ravens, first since 1970 with the Baltimore Colts. — Zach Canter
As has been the case the whole year, teams just can’t hang with the Ravens over four quarters. The game was close at half due to some questionable play calls and a Houston punt return for a touchdown, but over time, Baltimore physically wore them down. The defense held C.J. Stroud to under 200 pass yards and 31(!) rushing yards, cementing their claim as the best in the NFL. Lamar Jackson had four touchdowns and eventually settled into his MVP form in the second half. The Ravens will host their first AFC championship in franchise history next week vs. the Bills/Chiefs. — Stephen Bopst