After watching the first round of the NFL playoffs unfold from the comfort of their own home, the Baltimore Ravens are getting ready to host the plucky Houston Texans this Saturday, January 20. Will Maryland’s finest continue throttling everyone in their path, as they have done all season? Or do the Texans, perhaps, have plenty of fight left in them?
- What: Baltimore Ravens vs Houston Texans
- Date: Saturday, January 20, 2024
- Time: 4:30 p.m. eastern standard time
- Where: M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland
- Point Spread: Ravens (-9.5), Texans (+9.5)
The general football public is no longer sleeping on Houston’s talent level. Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud is a superstar. You don’t lead a playoff push and pick up a postseason victory by accident. The Texans are going to be a problem, it looks like, for quite some time. However, with that said, the latest NFL online betting odds don’t give them much of a chance against Baltimore:
Please keep double-checking these online NFL playoff betting odds until you actually submit your wager. Our Ravens vs. Texans betting odds are accurate entering Wednesday, January 17. That gives the best NFL online betting sites plenty of time to make adjustments leading into opening kick-off on January 20.
Though NFL playoff games with relatively clean bills of health don’t typically endure much betting-line movement, this matchup could be an exception. We have already seen some blips and spikes on the Ravens-Texans point spread and moneyline. This likely has to do with mixed market feeling on Houston’s performance. That makes sense. The Texans only just started creeping into the national conscience a few weeks ago. Plus, teams led by rookie QBs are always subject to wild swings.
Still, the overarching sentiment remains the same: Projections models, media members, betting analysts, fan blogs, etc. all expect the Ravens to beat the Texans and advance to the 2024 AFC Championship rather easily. But will it really be that simple for likely MVP Lamar Jackson and his Baltimore squad?
The Baltimore Ravens Have Been Beating Up on Everyone All Year, Including Good Teams
The Ravens aren’t just playing great football this season. They are dominant. Baltimore’s plus-203 point differential leads the league by a comical margin—and is 179 points better than that of the Texans. What’s more, the Ravens have not merely fattened up against inferior opponents. Five of their double-digit victories came against winning squads, a list that includes the Texans themselves, the Miami Dolphins, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions and, yes, San Francisco 49ers.
Coming off a long layover could render Baltimore a little rusty. We saw this happen to them a few years ago in the playoffs. But head coach John Harbaugh has said the team will be better prepared for the gap in play this time around, and that Ravens team didn’t rank in the top five of both offense and defense.
Baltimore also gets a leg up by playing outdoors. Houston is used to playing inside a dome and has struggled on the road accordingly. Saturday’s weather is supposed to top out at 27 degrees. That will be a (literal) cold reality check for the Texans.
Mostly, even if you’re on the fence about the point spread, over/under and certain NFL playoff prop bets, you can’t suddenly distrust the Ravens. They have an entire body of work showing that they are no worse than the second-best team in the NFL. Picking them to win outright over the Texans is the smart call.
OSB Prediction: Baltimore Ravens (-390)
Can the Houston Texans Show Enough Fight to Avoid Falling Behind by Double Digits?
Nine of the Ravens’ 13 regular season victories came by at least 10 points. Based on the latest NFL playoff point spread betting odds, Baltimore’s margin of victory is being set exactly at that double-digit standard:
- Baltimore Ravens, -9.5 (-105)
- Houston Texans, +9.5 (-115)
Bettors usually get a little shy when it comes to double-digit-esque point spreads in the playoffs. This matchup appears no different. The early action has flowed toward the Texans. That, of course, says a lot about Houston. They just hung 40-plus points on the Browns defense in the Wild Card round.
Still, the Texans have not looked like the same team on the road all season. In particular, C.J. Stroud has seen his numbers crater when playing outdoors. Through seven road games, his quarterback rating checks in at 91.5. That’s a monstrous difference from his 108.3 QB rating when playing at home.
OSB Prediction: Baltimore Ravens, -9.5 (-105)
Bettors Remain Split on the Ravens vs. Texans Over/Under Line
The divisional matchup between Baltimore and Houston has yielded one of the harder NFL over/under betting lines of the postseason:
- Over 43.5 (-110)
- Under 43.5 (-110)
So many factors are begging us to take the “under.” Cold weather. Houston playing outside rather than in a dome. Stroud’s struggles on the road. Baltimore’s defense continuing to post some of the best marks we’ve seen in decades. Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
And yet, we find ourselves drawn to the “over.” Though the defense receives most of the attention, the Ravens offense is that dominant. They were 14th in offensive plays worth 20-plus yards on the season, which is a demonstrative improvement over where they ranked a year ago. Jackson is now the ideal quarterback, someone who can break down defenses with his legs, his eyes, his audibles and his arm.
Don’t be surprised if the final score of this one is something like 37-17 in favor of Baltimore.
OSB Prediction: Over 43.5 (-110)
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