Houston Texans-Baltimore Ravens 5 P’s: Preview, Point Spread, Pick, Prediction, and Poll

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The Houston Texans won their first ever playoff game last week, following the lead of Arian Foster while T.J. Yates managed the game effectively. Playing the Bengals at home is far different from playing the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore, however.

In today’s first game, Houston will attempt to reach the AFC Championship Game against New England…but they’ll have to beat Ray Lewis, Ray Rice, and the mighty Ravens in their home stadium where the defense typically balls so hard.

Here is all the basic info you need to know, what MSF’s writers have said about the game this week, and a poll so you can take your pick.

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NFL Playoffs: Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens Preview and Prediction

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Much of the AFC playoff coverage has been focused on Tim Tebow and the Broncos, but there is another game being played on Sunday that should be great to watch.

The Houston Texans, who are now undefeated in the playoffs as a franchise, are heading into Baltimore to take on the Ravens. They already faced each other this season, in a game which the Ravens won by a score of 29-14. It seems like a lopsided win, but five field goals by Billy Cundiff turned out to be the difference, in an otherwise hard-fought game.

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NFL Playoffs Divisional Round Predictions: Saints-49ers, Patriots-Broncos, Ravens-Texans, and Giants-Packers

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Four games, eight teams, eight storylines.

The Divisional Round often produces the most compelling and memorable moments of the NFL Playoffs. Favorites carrying the weight of the world, or underdogs with nothing to lose and not getting enough respect even after being just one of eight teams out of 32 left.

Jerod offered his spread picks for each game earlier in the week. Now here are my predictions for each game.

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NFL Playoffs Viewer’s Guide: Saints-Lions and Bengals-Texans Point Spreads, Picks, TV Times, and Announcers

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I posted my Bettor’s Guide for the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs earlier this week. This post updates the information for today’s games – Houston v Cincinnati and Detroit v New Orleans – including the latest spreads, the announcers, and the TV schedule.

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NFL: AFC Playoff Scenarios and Predictions for Week 17

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I just broke down the playoff scenarios for the NFC (including my predictions for what the first round matchups will look like).

Now let’s break down the playoff scenarios for the AFC based on what happens in Week 17. There is still a lot to be decided.

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What if T.J. Yates and John Skelton were Tim Tebow?

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We have been rather effusive in our praise of Tim Tebow on this site over the past month and a half, a fact of which I’m proud – mostly because I think we’ve kept Tebowmania in something resembling proper perspective. For every “TEBOW WON!” article, there has also been an article focusing on the personal attributes that make him so compelling or a generally down-the-center piece focusing on the Tebow phenomenon itself.

In this article, I don’t even really want to talk too much about Tebow (even though I will…that’s just how it goes). Rather, I want to offer up a few plaudits to quarterbacks whose important contributions to the NFL landscape are getting predictably lost in the Tebow Maelstrom.

T.John Skates…this post is for you.

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The Unsung Heroes of Week 13 in the NFL

You too can own a small piece of Lambeau Field.

It was an eventful week in the National Football League.

Aaron Rodgers led a last-minute drive to give the Packers a win over the Giants, extending Green Bay’s winning streak to 18. Drew Brees became the first quarterback in league history to throw for more than 4,000 yards in 12 games. Tim Tebow led the Broncos to their fifth straight win and proved that he is more than just a pair of legs, throwing for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Chris Johnson put to rest any doubt that he had emerged from an early-season, hold0ut-induced funk by rushing for 153 yards and 2 scores. Marshawn Lynch had similar numbers in the Seahawks’ Thursday-night thrashing of the Eagles. And the Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski caught 3 touchdown passes, tying the record for most touchdown receptions in a season by a tight end with 13.

First-year coach Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers clinched the NFC West and earned their first Playoff bid in nearly a decade. During the Niners’ shutout of St. Louis running back Frank Gore became the leading rusher in franchise history.

These are the players you’ll see on the highlight shows and read about in the week-in-review columns. These are the players who sell jerseys and star in commercials for insurance companies. But, as is always the case in football, no team is successful apart from the contributions of several players whose exemplary work we often overlook.

Here are but a few of the unsung heroes from Week 13 in the NFL:

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12 Things We Learned Over Thanksgiving Weekend

Rick Majerus, with a Billiken (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Congratulations to the British Columbia Lions, who defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 34-23 in front of a crowd of 54,000 to win the 99th Grey Cup. I’m not sure that Vancouver deserves nice things, considering how the city responded to losing the Stanley Cup, but I can’t imagine that Winnipeg is too torn up about the loss. After all, the Jets are back!

Anyway, here’s what we learned this weekend:

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Fantasy Football Thanksgiving Week Stock Watch

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Thanksgiving is a football fan’s dream: plenty of good food and plenty of good football.

Even though some fantasy owners don’t like their guys playing so early, it could actually work in your favor if you are down a pretty big margin after the Thursday games have ended and taking a big risk is necessary.

No byes again this week, so getting a lucky matchup with your opposition missing Aaron Rodgers and Matt Forte are over.

Please, enjoy your holiday and this week’s Stock Report.  (And find a replacement for Fred Jackson fast.)

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Kyle Orton’s 5 Most Likely Destinations

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Although Tim Tebow has won 4 out of his 5 starts so far, the everyday fan was still surprised to see Kyle Orton be waived by the Broncos.

John Fox is a coach who looks for a more traditional style quarterback, and that leads me to believe that he did not have much to do with the waiving of Orton. Orton is a quarterback that I feel is better than most quarterbacks starting in the NFL as of today, and many teams could use him as an upgrade from what they currently have.

Here are some of the teams that may have an interest in claiming him.

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Matt Leinart Can Redefine His Career In Houston

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The Houston Texans (7-3) are poised to make the playoffs this season, especially considering the Colts (0-10) are not in the AFC South race. They have been missing key players all season, including Mario Williams, Andre Johnson, and even Arian Foster for a few games, but injury news came out following Sunday’s win over the Bucs that will have the greatest impact on the team yet.

Matt Schaub is out, possibly for the entire season, after injuring the Lisfranc joint in his right foot. If it requires surgery, he will definitely miss the rest of the season.

His backup, Matt Leinart, is now taking over the reigns of a team who is among the best in the AFC. They have the most complete team in their franchise’s history, and cannot afford to waste their great start.

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Fantasy Football Start em, Sit em Advice for Week 10

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There are many different factors that make fantasy football difficult: bye weeks; injuries; random lucky days for your opponent; and worst of all, Chris Johnson.

In my opinion though, the hardest thing is staying in the present.

What do I mean?

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NFL Power Rankings Week 9: The Midseason Motown Edition – One Classic “Hitsville, U.S.A.” Track For All 32 Teams

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Week 8 is now in the books after Philip Rivers fumbled away a road win in Kansas City, which means we are right around the midway point of the 2011 season. Most teams have played 8 games, a few have played 7, and we can finally start to state with some level of certainty who is good, who is not, and who is too enigmatic to declare.

Without question, the story of the first half of the season (other than this) has been the ascent of the Detroit Lions.

They went 0-16 three years ago, then 2-14 in Jim Schwartz’s first year, then 6-10 last year; and now halfway through their 2011 slate Detroit, sitting at 6-2, is a bona fide contender in the NFC. And the Lions aren’t just an empty record either. They have the skill, attitude, reputation, and right now the health (knock on wood) to suggest that they aren’t going away.

So in honor of the Motor City Mufasas, and their roaring wreakers of wreckage Ndamukong Suh and Calvin Johnson, I give to you my Midseason NFL Power Rankings, with each team presented alongside a Motown classic that sums up the first half of its season.
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How many NFL teams would trade their current QB for Cam Newton right now?

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How many teams would trade their current QB, right now, for Cam Newton?

This is a question I’ve been thinking about a lot over the past several weeks, as I continue to be more and more impressed (and surprised) by how well Cam Newton is transitioning to the NFL in his first season.

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The Unsung Heroes From Week 7 in the NFL

Tim Tebow should buy Virgil Green a beer. Or at least an iced tea. (Wikipedia)

Drew Brees went 31-35 for 325 yards and 5 touchdowns in the Saints’ 62-7 undressing of the Colts.

Aaron Rodgers put together another near-perfect performance for the undefeated Packers.

Cowboys rookie DeMarco Murray ran for 253 yards in relief of injured starter Felix Jones (and fumble-prone backup Tashard Choice), breaking a single-game franchise record set by Emmitt Smith in 1993.

Cam Newton continued his impressive freshman campaign, going 18-23 for 256 yards, rushing for another 59 yards, and scoring one touchdown through the air and one on the ground.

And Tim Tebow raised as many questions as he answered Sunday, struggling for much of the Broncos’ overtime win over the Dolphins before scoring 2 touchdowns and a 2-point conversion in the final 3 minutes of regulation.

These are the players whose names you read in headlines and whose highlights you saw on SportsCenter. But football is an 11-on-11 game, and most of this weekend’s winners wouldn’t have been successful without the contributions of several players who didn’t hear their names mentioned in the post-game press conference.

Here are just a few of the unsung heroes from Week 7 in the NFL:

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