Texans’ 3 Biggest Keys to Victory vs. Ravens

Derrick Henry hasn't played his best ball throughout the past three weeks of action after a dominant Week 1 to the year. In three games, he's failed to log over 50 yards on the ground with less than 13 carries in all, fumbling three times, and logging just one touchdown in the process.

But let's not forget the dominance Henry's had in recent memory against Houston, and especially so during his latest performance while being in Baltimore last Christmas. In his last eight performances vs. the Texans, he's averaged over 150 yards on the ground per game on over six yards per carry, while scoring a total of 11 touchdowns.

The Texans can't let Henry's cold streak end against them, and with Lamar Jackson's status in doubt, it'll be vital that Houston limits Baltimore's offensive centerpiece in a game he could see a large workload in.

2. Ride the Hot Hand of Woody Marks

Last week vs. the Tennessee Titans, the story of the Texans' victory came down to the dominance of fourth-round rookie running back Woody Marks. He finished the day breaking out for over 100 all-purpose yards and two total touchdowns, surging onto the scene as a consistent explosive playmaker in the offense moving forward.

That surge starts with continuing to ride the hot hand of his production from last week into this one vs. the Ravens.

The Ravens have started the first four weeks of the new season as one of the worst-run defenses in the NFL. They're bottom three in EPA allowed per rush (+0.12), have allowed the most rushing touchdowns in the NFL (16), and have allowed the sixth-most average rushing yards per game (141.0).

The Texans must look to capitalize on those lapses in stopping the run, and Marks will be just the guy to turn to in order to make that happen.

3. Improve Third Down Consistency

An ugly trend to start the year for the Texans offensively has been their ineffectiveness on third down.

The Texans are currently the second-worst offense in the NFL on third down, converting on just 29.2% of their total chances, ahead of only the Tennessee Titans at 27.8%, the team which they just got fresh off of pummelling in a 26-0 shutout.

That's not the greatest company to sit next to.

For the Texans' offense to have the ability to move down the field consistently, a large chunk of that success will bank on how they react on third down to keep drives alive. That also relies on keeping penalties at a minimum in order to keep C.J. Stroud in favorable positions, rather than consistently sitting in third-and-long situations.

Despite facing against what projects to be a hobbled Ravens group on both sides of the ball, to get the team's first-ever win on the road in Baltimore, capitalizing on those late-down situations could be what makes or breaks the Texans' success offensively.