The Texans pretty much gave the game away today due to shoddy passing offensively and poor special teams play. T.J. Yates had a game to forget as he completed 17 of 35 passes for 184 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs. Arian Foster had another outstanding game as he rushed for 132 yards on 27 carries (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run. He also caught 4 passes for 22 yards (5.5 avg) in this game. Andre Johnson led the way in the passing game for the Texans with 8 grabs for 111 yards (13.9 avg) today. The Texans finished up with 131 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.7 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 35 passes (48.6%) for 184 yards as they had possession of the ball for 28:40.

The defense was simply awesome for the Texans in this game. They sacked Ravens’ QB Joe Flacco five times in this game. DE J.J. Watt (12 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 tackles for a loss and 3 QB hits) and LB Brian Cushing (11 tackles and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Texans in this game. Safety Danieal Manning also had a great game with 9 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 4 kickoff returns for 133 yards (33.3 avg)). Rookie OLB Brooks Reed was living in the Ravens’ backfield as he had 8 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 QB hits. The Ravens finished up with 87 yards rushing on 31 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 27 passes (51.9%) for 140 yards as they had possession of the ball for 31:20.

Jacoby Jones really hurt the Texans bad in this game as he returned 6 punts for 4 yards (0.7 avg). He also fumbled twice, losing one of them that eventually resulted in the Ravens’ first TD of the game.

The Texans played hard on defense in this game and Arian Foster was incredible, but it just wasn’t enough to extend their season. That being said, it was still the best year in the history of the Houston Texans.

The Texans got an impressive win over the Bengals last weekend in Houston. Playing the Ravens in Baltimore tomorrow is a whole different animal. The Texans lost against the Ravens 29-14 in week #6 against the Ravens in Baltimore. The Ravens and Texans mirror each other in style as they both like to run the ball offensively and play solid D. This is going to be a slobberknocker in Baltimore tomorrow afternoon. Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Texans have the ball: The Texans are in for battle in this game. They are going to want to run the ball a lot in this game, but, Arian Foster and Ben Tate are going to have to fight for every yard they get against a very stout front seven of the Ravens. One way to loosen up the front seven of the Ravens a little bit is to take some shots down the field and make them pay for overplaying the run. In worked in their first playoff game, as Andre Johnson caught a 40-yard TD pass against the Bengals. The key to having time to throw the ball for the Texans will be keeping OLB Terrell Suggs out of their backfield. Yates will also throw some shorter passes to Kevin Walter and Owen Daniels in this game. I have a feeling that the Texans are going to run the ball a lot better than they did in the first meeting between these two teams.

When the Ravens have the ball: The key to beating the Ravens is to stop RB Ray Rice and force Joe Flacco to beat you with his right arm. This is easier said than done as Rice had 161 total yards against the Texans the first time around. The Texans have an outstanding pass rush and secondary, so they are more than capable of making Joe Flacco screw up. He has definitely not been at his best in big games, so the Texans are going to be coming after him all day long. That being said, Flacco has a nice set of targets in the passing game in WR Torrey Smith, WR Anquan Boldin, TE Dennis Pitta and TE Ed Dickson.

PREDICTION: RAVENS 20, TEXANS 16

The Texans loaded up on defense early in the 2011 NFL Draft and they also found their starting playoff QB in the 5th round in T.J. Yates. Here is a look at how the rookies did in 2011:

22-year old DE J.J. Watt was the Texans’ first round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. Watt played in all 16 games and he finished up with 56 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 9 tackles for a loss, 2 fumble recoveries and 4 passes defensed. He has a HUGE upside for the Texans.

24-year old OLB Brooks Reed was the Texans’ second round pick last April. He played in all 16 games for the Texans this year and he had 45 tackles, 6 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 passes defensed. Like Watt, Reed has a huge upside.

21-year old CB Brandon Harris was also a 2nd round pick of the Texans. Harris played in 7 games and he had 3 whopping tackles. Maybe he will be better in his second season in 2012 for the Texans.

23-year old CB Rashad “Roc” Carmichael was a 4th round pick by the Texans last April. He missed his entire rookie season due to a shoulder injury.

24-year old safety Shiloh Keo was picked in the 5th round by the Texans. He played in 10 games for the Texans last year and he had 4 tackles. He also returned 1 punt for 11 yards. Keo does most of his work on special teams.

24-year old QB T.J. Yates came to the Texans in the 5th round. Yates played in 6 games for the Texans during the regular season and he completed 82 of 134 passes (61.2%) for 949 yards with 3 TD passes and 3 INTs (80.7 QB Rating). He also carried the ball 14 times for 57 yards (4.1 ypc) for the Texans last year.

24-year old OT Derek Newton was a 7th round pick of the Texans last April. He played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Texans last year. Newton looks like a keeper for the Texans.

23-year old OLB Cheta Ozougwa was also picked in the 7th round by the Texans last April. He did not play in any games as a rookie.

GRADE FOR 2011: A+

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE: A+

The Texans went back to the time tested game plan of running the ball and playing defense yesterday and it was a recipe for success.  T.J. Yates was a game manager type in this game as he completed 11 of 20 passes for 159 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Arian Foster led the way for the Texans on the ground in this game with 153 yards rushing on 24 carries (6.4 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  He also caught 3 passes for 29 yards (9.7 avg) in this game.  Ben Tate pitched in with 9 carries for 37 yards (4.1 ypc) in this game.  WR Andre Johnson led the way in the passing game with 5 receptions for 90 yards (18.0 avg) with 1 TD grab.  The Texans finished up with 188 yards rushing on 35 carries (5.4 ypc) and they also completed 11 of 20 passes (55%) for 152 yards as they had possession of the ball for 29:43.

The defense was pretty darn good for the Texans yesterday.  LB Brian Cushing (8 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) and safety Danieal Manning (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception) led the way for the Texans on D yesterday.  CB Johnathan Joseph (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception), DE Antonio Smith (5 tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for a loss and 1 QB hit) and DE J.J. Watt (2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed, 1 QB hit and a interception that he returned 29 yards for a TD) also had solid games for the Texans yesterday.  The Bengals finished up with 76 yards rushing on 19 carries (4.0 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 42 passes (64.3%) for 224 yards in this game.  The Texans have advanced to the second round of the playoffs as they will visit  the Baltimore Ravens next weekend.

The Houston Texans and the Cincinnati Bengals will square off in the first round of the NFL Playoffs tomorrow afternoon in Texas.  The Texans have not played well lately as they have lost three games in a row.  The Bengals have won 2 of their last three games, but they lost last weekend against the Ravens and needed some help to get to the playoffs.  The Texans beat the Bengals 20-19 in Cincy just four weeks ago.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Texans have the ball:  After watching the Bengals’ D get shredded by the Ravens’ running game last weekend, Arian Foster and Ben Tate have to be chomping at the bit for tomorrow’s game.  T.J. Yates is going to try to give it a go tomorrow (he separated his left shoulder last weekend).  With Andre Johnson really to likely go full bore, whoever is playing at QB for the Texans (Yates or Jake Delhomme) is likely going to have some success throwing the ball.  The Bengals do have 45 sacks on the year, so the O-Line is going to have to step up and give the QB time to throw the ball.

When the Bengals have the ball:  The Bengals are likely going to run the ball a lot tomorrow with Cedric Benson and Bernard Scott.  The front seven of the Texans is going to get challenged in this game, but they should be up for the challenge.  If the Texans can force the Bengals to be one dimensional in this game, they might be able to force rookie QB Andy Dalton into making some mistakes with the ball.  The Texans have 44 sacks and 17 interceptions this year as they have been in QBs heads the whole year.  That being said, Dalton was a nice set of receivers in A.J. Green, Jerome Simpson and Jermaine Gresham.

PREDICTION:  TEXANS 23, BENGALS 16

The Texans won the AFC South for the first time in franchise history in a year in which they used four QBs due to injuries.  30-year old Matt Schaub was the first guy up and he was 7-3 as a starter.  He played in 10 games (all starts) for the Texans this year and he completed 178 of 292 passes (61%) for 2,479 yards with 15 TD passes and 6 INTs (96.8 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 15 times for 9 yards (0.6 ypc) with 2 TD runs last year.  Schaub has now played in 102 games (66 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 1,466 of 2,279 passes (64.3%) for 17,936 yards with 98 TD passes and 58 INTs (92.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 157 times for 337 yards (2.1 ypc) with 4 TD runs in his NFL career.  Schaub is now 32-34 (48.5%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

28-year old Matt Leinart was the next guy up, but he broke his collarbone in his first start (a win for the Texans).  He played in 2 games (1 start) for the Texans last year and he completed 10 of 13 passes (76.9%) for 57 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (110.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 1 time for -1 yard last year.  Leinart has now played in 31 games (18 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 350 of 608 passes (57.6%) for 3,950 yards with 15 TD passes and 20 INTs (71.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 47 times for 89 yards (1.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far in his career.  He is now 8-10 (44.4%) as a starting QB in the NFL.

24-year old rookie fifth round pick T.J. Yates has been the starting QB the last five weeks for the Texans and they are 2-3 in that time.  Yates played in 6 games (5 starts) for the Texans this year and he completed 82 of 134 passes (61.2%) for 949 yards with 3 TD passes and 3 INTs (80.7 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 14 times for 57 yards (4.1 ypc) this year.  It will be interesting to see how Yates responds to the pressure of playoff football.

36-year old Jake Delhomme replaced T.J. Yates (due to injury) in the regular season finale against the Titans and he looked sharp.  He completed 18 of 28 passes (64.3%) for 211 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs (99.0 QB Rating.  He looks capable of replacing T.J.Yates tomorrow if he isn’t totally healthy.  Delhomme has now played in 103 games (96 starts) in his NFL career and he has completed 1,741 of 2,932 passes (59.4%) for 20,975 yards with 126 TD passes and 101 INTs (81.3 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 175 times for 328 yards (1.9 ypc) with 7 TD runs so  far in his career.  Delhomme is 56-40 (58.3%) as a starting QB during the regular season.

The Texans scored on a 5-yard TD pass from Jake Delhomme to Bryant Johnson with 14 seconds left in this game, and for some reason, they decided to go for 2-points and they failed.  T.J. Yates started this game and he completed all four of his pass attempts, good for 47 yards before leaving this game after getting dinged up.  Jake Delhomme replaced Yates and he looked pretty solid as he completed 18 of 28 passes for 211 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Ben Tate led the way on the ground for the Texans in this game with 97 yards rushing on 16 carries (6.1 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 4 passes for 24 yards (6.0 avg).  Derrick Ward pitched in with 50 yards rushing on 12 carries (4.2 ypc).  FB James Casey led the way for the Texans in the passing game with 7 grabs for 91 yards (13.0 avg).  WRs Bryant Johnson (2 rec, 45 yards, TD) and Andre Johnson (2 rec, 21 yards) also pitched in for the Texans in the passing game.  The Texans finished up with 152 yards rushing on 30 carries (5.1 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 32 passes (68.8%) for 235 yards as they had possession of the ball for 34:38.

The defense didn’t play up to par in this game for the Texans.  Safety Quintin Demps (6 tackles) and DT Earl Mitchell (6 tackles and 1 pass defensed) led the way for the Texans on D in this game.  LB Jesse Nading pitched in with 2 tackles, 1/2 a sack, 1 QB hit and 1 fumble recovery.  The Titans finished up with 86 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.9 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 35 passes (62.9%) for 275 yards.  The Texans finished the 2011 with a 10-6 record and they will host the Cincinnati Bengals next weekend in the first round of the NFL Playoffs.