Playoff Newbies: Nothing at stake for Houston Texans – NFL Playoffs Special
The Houston Texans are playing their first playoff game on Sunday, January 15, 2012, in the franchise's history against the American Football Conference (AFC) North Division champions, the Baltimore Ravens.
Apparently, the side is ready and up for the challenge and is planning on banking on a number of strengths, going into the game.
The latest among all those is their win over Cincinnati Bengals in the wild-card game on Saturday, January 07, 2012, which was also their first in the franchise's history.
From their performance in the Bengals' game, they looked like champions.
The victory looked all too easy for them, at the end. The game ended at a clearer and wider margin of 31 to 10 points, a win to the Texans.
It is to note here that it is the Texans first postseason round. It is for the first time that they have claimed the AFC South Division along with a playoff berth.
Most importantly, the Bengals were projected as favourites before going into the game and seen likely to win the wild-card game.
The Texans' win, however, surprised many, especially their critics, who discarded them to being just lucky to have reached the playoff phase.
Otherwise, they believe, the team’s league stature was not such as to make it eligible for going beyond the National Football League (NFL) regular season.
The Texans’ performance is more significant, given the number of injury problems the team has confronted within the later part of the regular season.
The key players such as quarterbacks, Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart, are out with foot and collarbone injuries, respectively, while Wide Receiver, Andre Johnson, has sat out as many as nine games due to a hamstring injury.
The side has relied on the fifth number rookie quarterback, T.J.Yates.
There remained injury scares on the front for a couple of players.
Inspite of all this, the team has remained a consistent winner on the field. It now hopes to continue the streak and topple the Baltimore Ravens, who have too much to lose in the game.
It is the Ravens’ fourth consecutive playoff appearance.
The team has failed in all its previous attempts to get past through successfully.
This is another and probably the last chance for them to redeem their reputation as the playoff losers. The side, therefore, will be going for a must win.
The only advantage that Ravens have this time is playing on their home-ground. However, this can also go against them.
The added pressure of the home crowd can make them tremble off the winning track.
Cincinnati Bengals succumbed to similar pressure against the Texans, a week earlier, which makes the Texans ready to capitalise on another such opportunity again.
Another weakness that the Texans can exploit is Ravens' poor record against the relatively less competitive opponents.
Despite the fact that Texans have won the division, they are not considered at par with the Ravens.
Ravens have lost to teams such as Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars, signalling that they can also be prone to similar weaknesses this time.
It is the first time that the Texans are playing the Ravens in Baltimore.
So far, the Ravens have a perfect winning record at their home ground. However, they are playing in an altogether different situation this time.
The Texans are aiming for a definite win despite that the victory is not as important for them as it is for the Ravens.
Having acclaimed the glories of the divisional title and playoff berth for the first time in their history, Houston Texans have nothing at stake. They have already been acclaimed as heroes for what they have already achieved.
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