NFL Playoffs 2012: Heroes and Goats of the Baltimore Ravens' Playoff Win

While it wasn't as dominating as Baltimore Ravens' fans would have hoped, the Ravens managed to escape with a win against the Houston Texans.

The Ravens struggled for much of the game on both offense and defense. They had trouble stopping the run, they produced no pass rush and the offense went three-and-out many times.

Still, the Ravens won, and numerous players were key in this victory.

Here are the heroes and goats of the Ravens' AFC Divisional Round victory over the Houston Texans.

Hero: Lardarius Webb

Lardarius Webb has blossomed into one of the best corners in the NFL, and his performance today cemented his status as a highly sought after free agent.

Webb played lockdown defense all day, and that resulted in two big interceptions. Not one Texans' receiver was able to get open on Webb's smothering coverage.

The secondary as a whole was key in this game, but Lardarius Webb's performance was one for the ages, and that's no exaggeration.

Goat: Terrell Suggs

Memo to Terrell Suggs: Please do not talk to Skip Bayless this week.

What would he have to say? He can't say Flacco proved the critics wrong, because he didn't. He can criticize Tebow, but the Ravens don't need any more bad karma.

Suggs can't even talk about his own performance, because the Ravens got no pass rush on T.J. Yates whatsoever. Further, the Ravens consistently failed to set the edge against the Texans' running game.

For making comments that he couldn't back up and for a generally average performance, Suggs was a disappointment against the Texans.

Hero: Anquan Boldin

Anquan Boldin showed everyone what he can still do—with several circus catches that went for big gains.

Without Boldin, the Ravens would not have had any semblance of a passing game today.

His big plays consistently provided a spark for the offense, and his touchdown put the Ravens ahead for good.

Goats: Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson

The Ravens two young tight ends are considered their main weapons on third and short, and they've generally been good at extending drives and making plays.

Today, though, they combined for a mere three catches for 43 yards.

Worse, Dickson was guilty of numerous drops, and both struggled to get open all day. They even struggled to block: The running game was completely ineffective.

All in all, the Ravens rely on their young tight ends to get the passing game moving, and today, they dropped the ball.

Hero: Sam Koch

The Ravens' special teams have been criticized all year, but against the Texans, punter Sam Koch earned a lot of love today.

Koch's booming punt early in the first quarter forced Jacoby Jones to run back, and his poor decision to attempt to return it resulted in a fumble and excellent field position for the Ravens.

Koch was stellar throughout the day, consistently pinning the Texans deep.

His numbers would have been even better had the Ravens been able to stop the ball inside the five—they made some mental mistakes that resulted in touchbacks.

Koch deserves credit as one of the better punters in the NFL, as his performance today was a key part of the Ravens' win.

Goats: The Offensive Line

Every time Joe Flacco gets sacked, that's a failure of blocking. Flacco was sacked five times: That's 15 percent of the Ravens' dropbacks.

Every time Ray Rice is stuffed, that's a failure of the offensive line. Of Ray Rice's 21 carries, 10 were for less than two yards.

This was an embarrassing performance for the Ravens' offensive line. They simply had no answer for Brooks Reed and J.J. Watt, who both produced 2.5 sacks.

For failing to protect Flacco and completely failing to produce holes for the running game, the offensive line as a group was the biggest goat of the day for the Baltimore Ravens.

Hero: Ed Reed

What Ed Reed did today was remarkable in every phase of the word.

Reed played like a battered and bruised heavyweight champion on the ropes, sacrificing his body repeatedly to take desperate shots at the opponent.

His desperate shots worked. Reed always seemed to know where T.J. Yates was going to throw, and he showed enough closing speed to consistently make plays on the ball.

His beautiful fourth quarter interception was the body shot that put the Texans on the ropes. All the Ravens had to do was get the knockout blow.

With the offense unable to do so, it was up to the defense. Ed Reed fittingly ended the game with his finest effort of the day, launching himself towards the ball to break up the Texans final pass.

Goat: Ed Reed

Ed Reed's play was miraculous, and he played like it would be the last time he'd ever strap on a helmet.

For that reason, he was perhaps the Ravens biggest goat.

The way Reed consistently sacrificed his body was stunning to behold, but his sacrifice battered his body to the point of injury.

Several plays left Reed shaken up, but his last ditch launch to break up the Texans' Hail Mary pass could knock Reed out for the playoffs.

Unless the offense or Tom Zbikowski steps up in a big way, the Ravens will need Ed Reed to have any hope of upsetting the New England Patriots.

I deeply admire the way Ed Reed played today, but it will be a real shame if he's knocked out of the playoffs for playing too hard.