Ravens Prepared For More 'In Sync' Texans Roster After Week 1 Win

A Week 1 victory against the Houston Texans isn't giving the Baltimore Ravens a sense of comfort heading into the divisional-round matchup on Saturday.

A 25-9 opening-day victory was a sign of things to come for the Baltimore Ravens. 

It just so happens that the team they beat to open the 2023 season now stands in their way of a date in the conference championship game. 

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When the Ravens and Houston Texans face off on Saturday to kick off the divisional round of the playoffs, Baltimore will enter as the heavy favorite against a team starting a rookie head coach and rookie quarterback. 

That means the things they took advantage of in the first matchup between the two teams, won't be there the second time around. 

"I believe they are more in sync as a team," Lamar Jackson said. "I believe [in Week 1] they had new guys getting used to the [new head] coach. They are playing lights out ball right now.”

The Texans certainly pose a different challenge than they did in Week 1. Houston is coming off a 45-14 drubbing of the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round of the playoffs with rookie phenom C.J. Stroud becoming the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game. 

As the MVP front-runner and with more playoff experience, Jackson will be the face of whether Baltimore should succeed or fail in their first playoff matchup of the year. 

Luckily for the Ravens, the quarterback has said the same kind of things the rest of the locker room has: the opponent doesn't matter when playing Baltimore. 

"We have changed a lot as well, just getting better and better, with our scheme and just being one unit," Jackson explained. "We added a bunch of new pieces as well on offense. We are definitely getting in sync now.”

Jackson's team will need to be in sync to reverse what happened just four years ago. 

In 2019, as the conference's top seed, the Ravens were upset by the Titans 28-12. Tennessee took advantage of an inexperienced group and Baltimore has struggled to get to that level of dominance since. 

Ravens QB Jackson in Elite Tier of Adjusted Total QBR

2023 has been a different story, though, and Baltimore knows it. The focus of the team has been on the game in front of them.

That also means understanding the new wrinkles and looks a more experienced and confident Texans group could bring.