Texans vs. Ravens: Why RBs Ray Rice and Arian Foster Hold Keys to Victory

Today’s Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens game is, in some ways, a mirror matchup, as two top-tier rushing attacks face off against elite run defenses. 

Also, the Texans, as well as the Ravens to some extent, are going to be reluctant to pick up the ball and throw it all over the field.

These two teams combined for over 1,000 rushing attempts this season, so it’s safe to say neither team will be easily deterred from pounding the football on the ground, even if yards are tough to come by early on. 

Both running backs should also be featured heavily in the passing games as the safest options for either quarterback.

The real story behind these two rushing attacks, especially in this game, is the shaky quarterback play that both teams will try to hide with hefty doses of running the football. 

For the Texans, this problem is much more obvious. 

This time last year, T.J. Yates was coming off of a season against the ACC—a conference which is not exactly known for its defensive prowess. 

As their third-string option, Yates has been serviceable, but no team would feel comfortable tossing a guy with less than half a season’s worth of NFL experience to wolves against this nasty Ravens defense, on the road, and in the playoffs. 

Protecting Yates will be the highest priority today, and a big part of that will be accomplished by relying on Arian Foster.

For the Ravens, hiding their quarterback is less of an issue, but it’s still certainly an issue. 

Joe Flacco has been very good at times this season, but he has also had the propensity to stink it up from time to time. 

Flacco recorded seven games this season with a QB rating under 75.  Unsurprisingly, three of the Ravens' four losses this season came in those games, and the fourth loss was in a multi-interception outing against the Chargers. 

So, while Flacco has shown improvement this season, he is still very capable of losing games for the Ravens if he is asked to do too much, and the Texans are precisely the defense built to exploit his flaws.

So, all of this just goes to say that the prospective rushing attacks today will hold the keys to victory. 

For football purists, the battles in the trenches between the opposing offensive and defensive lines should be a thing of beauty. 

Few teams run-block as well as the Texans, and few running backs can match the power and elusiveness of Ray Rice for the Ravens. 

The Texans have the added benefit of being able to rotate between star Arian Foster and his stud backup Ben Tate, both of whom are more than capable of carrying a heavy load. 

Given that they will be doing everything in their power to take the pressure off of their rookie quarterback, the Texans will be looking to spread as many carries as possible between the two. 

While the Ravens don’t have the luxury of such a dynamic duo, Ray Rice is a rare talent that a team can really only hope to contain, as he will get his yards one way or another.

This game features an old school matchup which looks like it will boil down to which team has the most success running the football. 

With less-than-stellar quarterback play for either team, it will be imperative for Arian Foster (as well as Ben Tate) and Ray Rice to step up big under the bright playoff lights.