Texans vs. Ravens: Joe Flacco Must Improve for Team to Compete in Foxborough

The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Houston Texans 20-13 on Sunday to advance to face the New England Patriots next Sunday in the AFC Championship Game, as an opportunistic Ravens defense used three T.J. Yates interceptions to hold off an upstart Texans squad.

However, not much credit for the victory can be given to the Baltimore offense, which struggled against a stout Houston defense. The Ravens managed fewer than 300 yards of total offense and needed the short fields provided by those Houston turnovers to generate scoring drives.

No player for the Ravens more personified those struggles on offense than quarterback Joe Flacco, who completed only 14-of-27 passes for 176 yards (although two of those completions did go for touchdowns).

Next week against the Patriots, that's just not going to get it done.

The New England offense was ruthlessly efficient in destroying the Denver Broncos 45-10 Saturday night, with quarterback Tom Brady throwing six touchdown passes. While the Ravens possess a more formidable defense than the Broncos, you have to think the Patriots are going to score more than 13 points, especially given the matchup nightmares that the New England tight end duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez present for opposing defenses.

Also, while the Ravens' victory today moves them to a perfect 9-0 at home this season, the team has had its share of struggles away from M&T Bank Stadium this year, losing four of eight games on the road. Flacco and the rest of the Ravens players will need to bring their A-games to buck that trend.

If there's one thing working in Flacco's favor, it will be the defense they're facing. Even though the Patriots looked lights-out against the Broncos, the fact remains that New England had one of the worst defensive units in the NFL this season, and their pass defense was positively horrific for much of the year.

One of the knocks on Flacco this season has been that he's been inconsistent, and for once Ravens fans had better hope that is indeed the case. If he gives a performance next week that is consistent with his poor play against Houston, Flacco, Ray Lewis and the rest of the Ravens will be watching Super Bowl XLVI on TV.