Why Houston Texans will dominate Baltimore Ravens in the NFL Divisional Finals – NFL Special Part 1
It is for the first time in their franchise history that the Houston Texans have made it to the playoff, a big achievement for the team that has been rated at the bottom of National Football League (NFL), the premier American professional football league,
for many seasons.
It was not enough for them, though.
They have gone a step further to beat their American Football Conference (AFC)-North rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals, in the first round of the postseason to get it through to the second phase.
The side is now up to face their next challenge, which is one of their toughest ones, beating the Baltimore Ravens.
Like the Texans, who have won the AFC South title, the Ravens have finished atop the AFC North division.
Both champs will come face to face in their next meeting in Baltimore on Sunday, January 15, 2012.
Despite the fact that Ravens have experience of playing many playoffs in the past, Texans have a competitive head-to-head edge over its opponent for many reasons.
They have nothing on stake in the upcoming tie.
They have already won the AFC title and made it to the postseason round of the league.
Both achievements came for the first time for them.
Houston has already hailed and celebrated over Texans having created history for them.
A job well done by the Texans, and all officials, football circles and fans are apparently more than pleased with their 2011 performance.
A loss against the Ravens will not make a huge difference for them. The tie is not a face-saver for them and they will still have their past wins to cover their backs.
So, away from worries of losing and consequently not being under any pressure, they can go and pull a trigger for a win over the Ravens.
They have done so against the Bengals, who ended up falling prey to their pressure of winning the game, after having achieved a rare wild card into the playoff.
It is likely that the Ravens might end up falling victim to a similar pressure, given the hype and expectations for wins surrounding their first game, after the first-round bye, has gained momentum recently.
The game is being played at Ravens' home ground, and hence there will be added pressure on them to go for the win.
Another reason for added stress on Ravens is their failure in getting it through post-playoff round in all their previous attempts.
It is for the fourth time straight in last four years that the Ravens have reached the playoff, but could not get past it the past three times.
The team is apparently weaker at getting through and beyond the playoff round and can give their opposition, the Texans, the advantage to go for a win.
There are some weaknesses confronting their opponents that can serve Texans’ hopes of a win over Ravens.
Ravens are weaker against the weaker oppositions.
Despite having defeated teams such as Pittsburgh Steelers twice in the regular season, they ended up losing against teams like Seattle Seahawks.
It is also their exposure to complacency that they might not take the Texans seriously, and at the end, find themselves trapped by their slackness.
It is the first time that the Ravens are getting a home game in the playoffs but it is yet to be seen how well they perform at their own ground under the immense tension.
Seeing their perfect home record in the regular season, witnessing the upcoming contest will certainly be exciting.
To be continued in Part 2....
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
Tags: