The Jan 15 – Texans against Ravens game has the possibility to be a dramatic and interesting game from start to finish, or a serious letdown. The main reason: both teams have looked amazing occasionally this year and absolutely terrible at others.

Super Bowl odds

The Texans have an excuse for their at times unsatisfactory play, as the squad has been weighed down by injuries all year. First, their all-pro wide acquire Andre Johnson went down with a hamstring injury. As if this blow to their offense wasn’t significant enough, then they lost their starting quarterback, Matt Schaub. Then they proceeded to lose their second chain quarterback, Matt Leingart, to injury. This put rookie T.J. Yates into the starting duty. Despite the fact that Yates has competed admirably thus far, it’s yet to be seen how he can fare against the vicious Ravens’ defense. The Texans battle through these injuries to a 10-6 record, but stumbled into the playoffs because they lost their last three competitions of the year.

College football odds

Despite the fact that the Ravens have looked outstanding generally this year, they’ve come up short at baffling times. After beating Houston 29-14 earlier in the season, they lost their next game to woeful Jacksonville as they performed some of the toughest offensive football shown by any squad this year. Then, after beating Pittsburgh 23-20, they lost their following game to Seattle. So, whereas it would appear Baltimore has the healthier, more full squad, that’s assuming the Baltimore who won those big competitions this year shows up.

Oddsmakers are counting on that. Baltimore is a 7.5 favorite at home. Whereas the Texans have a gritty defense themselves, the question remains as to whether Houston’s rookie quarterback can perform well under the stress of a divisional playoff game in a aggressive atmosphere. As the Ravens are more experienced and playing at home, they have the upper hand.