NFL Playoff Predictions: Ed Reed the Key to the Texans and Ravens Playoff Match

Ed Reed started the season on fire. The Ravens shut down the Steelers in a 35-7 rout to begin the year and Reed was all over the place. He was not just unstoppable, he was playing like Superman.

Reed finished the game with six solo tackles, a stuff for negative-four yards, four passes defensed and two interceptions. Had he played anything like that for the rest of the season, the Ravens might be undefeated. 

However, through the next 15 games, Reed averaged about 2.5 solo tackles per game, he did not stuff another run, he had four more passes defensed (the same number he had against the Steelers) and one more interception.

Remember, that was throughout the remainder season.

Reed is a surefire Hall of Fame player and has been one of, if not the best free safety in the NFL for the last decade. That being said, Reed has been battling neck injuries over the last year and even before. Furthermore, according to Dr. Mark Adickes, he has been suffering from stingers throughout this season and it has been effecting his play.

If Reed plays like Superman against Andre Johnson and Arian Foster, the Texans have almost no chance.  However, if Reed is unable to make a tackle on a deep pass to Johnson or a long run by Foster, that may be enough to cost the Ravens the game.

In five of the six games that Andre Johnson has been healthy and the Texans were trying to throw the ball down the field, he has a 40-plus yard catch. That means he is in Ed Reed territory. In what should be a low-scoring game, those are game-changing plays.

The Ravens will have to depend on Reed to neutralize Johnson because neither Lardarius Webb nor Cary Williams will be able to hold him on their own. As a result of this, there might not be a single player on the field that is more important than Reed.

Obviously the quarterback is the key for any NFL team. However, if Yates can't get the ball down field to Johnson, it might not matter what else he does.

If he can, that may be enough for the Texans to walk out of Baltimore with a victory.