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The Last Time They Played:
Ravens 13, Texans 43
October 21, 2012 was a beautiful day in Houston Texans' history. They had just lost their first game of the season in blowout fashion against the Green Bay Packers and now had to face a team they had never beaten in six tries. Fortunately for the Texans, the Baltimore Ravens were without their starting cornerback Lardarius Webb and the soul of their defense Ray Lewis. Even with the surprise return of Terrell Suggs from an injured achilles tendon, the Ravens would have absolutely no answer for the Houston Texans.
The Ravens would get on the board first with a 51-yard field goal and would stifle the Houston Texans offense three straight times for punts, but after pinning the Ravens at their own 5 yard line, Connor Barwin came completely free on a blitz and smashed Joe Flacco for a safety. A touchdown pass to Kevin Walter and a tipped pass by J.J. Watt turned into a pick six by Johnathan Joseph made the game 16-3 at the blink of an eye and the Texans would not look back en route to a 43-13 victory.
The Texans improved their record to 6-1 for 2012 and notched their first victory against the Baltimore Ravens in seven tries.
Check out TexansDC's review of the game using GIFs, and the celebratory Post Game thread here. Also worth your read is Brett Kollman's film review of the Texans pass defense. It includes a section on just how thoroughly the Bulls on Parade smothered the Ravens' offense.
Take a look at the highlights here and look over the beautiful box score here. Savor the victory.
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How Baltimore finished the 2012 season:
| Off Yds / G | Off. Pts / G | Def Yds / Game | Def Pts / Game | |
| Total | 352.5 | 24.9 | 350.9 | 21.5 |
| Rank | 16th | 10th | 17th | 12th |
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What Baltimore has done this offseason:
NFL Draft:
- 1 (32) - Matt Elam, S, Florida
- 2 (56) - Arthur Brown, ILB, Kansas State
- 3 (94) - Brandon Williams, DT, Missouri Southern State
- 4 (129) - John Simon, DE, Ohio State
- 4 (130) - Kyle Juszczyk, FB, Harvard
- 5 (168) - Ricky Wagner, OT, Wisconsin
- 6 (200) - Kapron Lewis-Moore, DE, Notre Dame
- 6 (203) - Ryan Jensen, OT, Colorado State-Pueblo
- 7 (238) - Aaron Mellette, WR, Elon
- 7 (247) Marc Anthony, CB, California
Key arrivals:
- Ex-Raiders MLB Rolando McClain, April 12 (now released)
- Ex-Raiders DB Michael Huff, March 27 (three years)
- Ex-Broncos LB Elvis Dumervil, March 24 (five years, $26 million with $12 million guaranteed)
- Ex-Cowboys DL Marcus Spears, March 15 (two years, $3.55 million)
- Ex-Giants DT Chris Canty, March 12 (three years, $8 million)
Key departures:
- Released LB Brendon Ayanbadejo, April 3
- LB Ray Lewis, retired
- FS Ed Reed, March 22 (signed with Texans)
- CB Cary Williams, March 14 (signed with Eagles)
- Released SS Bernard Pollard, March 13 (signed with Titans)
- LB Dannell Ellerbe, March 12 (signed with Dolphins)
- LB Paul Kruger, March 12 (signed with Browns)
- Traded WR Anquan Boldin to the 49ers for a sixth-round pick, March 11
It was a veritable fire sale early in the offseason for the Baltimore Ravens, but their NFL draft haul and free agent acquisitions have certainly reloaded their roster. If Elam and Brown live up to their potential, the Ravens might not miss Lewis and Reed for long. Dumervil plugged in next to Suggs and Haloti Ngata makes for a fearsome trio of pass rushers.
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Arbitrary prediction made in May of 2013: Texans 30, Ravens 27
A last second field goal by Randy Bullock seals the game for the Texans. Maybe.
Regardless, despite the large turnover in their roster, you better believe the Ravens will be ready to play at home this early in the season . The Texans will have their hands full against a talented roster with a smart coaching staff who just won the Super Bowl. This should make for a great game.
Best reader prediction: IThinkItsIndecision
I propose 50-6
“The Ravens have regressed offensively with no threat over the middle to keep Houston’s defense honest. Ed Reed has already reserved conference space at the Hilton of the Americas for his four day presentation on ‘Holes in Harbaugh’s Gameplan.’ All indications are that registration for the event has been closed. JJ Watt’s pick6 is the only difference between this meeting and the last.”
Leave your thoughts and predictions in the comments below! Next week we'll take a look at the Week 4 matchup against the talented Seattle Seahawks.
Week 1 Preview - Texans vs Chargers
Week 2 Preview -Titans vs Texans