Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans: Live Houston Score and Analysis

The most successful—and most polarizing—head coach in the history of the Houston Texans returns to a stadium he called home for eight seasons.

Love him or hate him, Gary Kubiak took the Texans to their only two playoff trips in franchise history—including two playoff wins—and is on the verge of going back to the postseason as a coordinator in Baltimore after turning around a Ravens offense that was terrible last season.

Under Kubiak, the Ravens offense has improved from a 25th and 29th ranking in points scored and yards gained respectively last season to ranks of eighth and 10th in those stat categories this year.

Stopping the Ravens' recharged offense will be crucial for the Texans today if they hope to win, because with Case Keenum back at quarterback—their third starter there this season—points will likely be hard to come by against a Ravens defense that ranks sixth in points allowed.

The Ravens have played poorly against the pass—30th in passing yards allowed—but a great front seven has led the way for a smothering rush defense which ranks third in yards allowed on the ground. Not a good matchup for the Texans, who will likely lean on Arian Foster with their issues at quarterback.

Baltimore will expect for Houston to come out and run the ball early, so they should counter that by attacking through the air instead. That strategy may fail miserably if Keenum still isn't capable of beating blitzes, but they can't try to pound the ball on the ground all game against eight-man boxes.

Ideally they'd like to run to set up the pass, but they'll need to reverse that strategy today. If they can't back the Ravens defenders off a little bit with the pass then they can't win, and if they don't win, their already-fading playoff hopes will officially be over.

No pressure.