50 Texans - Ravens Takeaways

50) If I could pay extra for a telecast that did not have player pre-game hype routines, I'd do it in a heartbeat

49) The game started with one of those things called a kickoff runback, which I'm told used to be an exciting and common play in football

48) The Jacoby Jones fumble that set up the go-ahead Ravens' touchdown was one of those mistakes, in a weekend filled with them, that a road team just can't make

47) When your game plan is Foster run, Foster screen, Andre Johnson crossing route, you aren't exactly killing them with deception

46) CBS covered the Joe Flacco "controversy" about his lack of respect might have been a distraction, but that implies that anyone respects Flacco enough to listen to his interviews in the first place

45) The Yates pick by Ladarius Webb showed that he only wants to throw to Johnson, which would become something of a trend, really

44) Flacco to Anquan Boldin for the touchdown was ho-hum perfect

43) It's very important for us to consider Yates' age on third down, since that's the only down it comes into play

42) On the had to stop them red zone down, the Ravens rushed three and were never in any danger of giving up the score

41) So long as Houston scores field goals instead of touchdowns, they will hear a strong number of cliches that no football fan with a functioning cerebellum needs to hear

40) Baltimore Fan likes to play dress up, CBS likes to televise them, and we need to know what the wind was like days before the game started

39) Houston is so uninteresting, the slightly askew hair of Connor Barwin counts as big color

38) Flacco answered his critics by doing his very best Trent Dilfer imitation

37) Foster's dance down the sideline was so good, John Harbaugh needed to challenge it and see it again

36) The size of the holes in obvious run situations in the second quarter is making me think the Patriots are going to have a good time next week

35) Foster's catch of Yates' panicky screen was unreal, and worth at least four points

34) The fact that Foster ran for a score on a goal-line give after a timeout tells you all you need to know about the Texans' ability to run the ball, and the Ravens' ability to stop it

33) Every time someone scores against the Ravens, we are required by law to film Ray Lewis stomping off in a huff

32) Ricky Williams is still alive and capable of running for four yards

31) The national television audience was mystified by this offensive innovation called a "running play"

30) Boldin's catch on a fly route showed that you can still be a highly regarded NFL WR without getting any separation at all

29) Considering that they are on the road and facing an experienced QB, there's a very real chance that the Texans have a better defense than the Ravens

28) The JJ Watt sack was worth at leas three points, and showed one of the reasons why Flacco doesn't get much respect, seeing how he wasn't aware enough of that fact

27) The real bottom line of this first half is that neither of these QBs is good enough to win on the road in New England

26) If you need a QB to wait long enough to get sacked, Flacco is your man

25) I'm not sure that there's a worse punt returner in the NFL than Jacoby Jones

24) Foster became the first RB ever to run for 100 yards against the Ravens, which would be more impressive if the Ravens had been in existence for a long time

23) Giving the ball to Ray Rice tends to work better when you don't always do it on the same downs, in the same places, with the same lack of blocking

22) You know your offense is stagnant when a 14-yard screen on 3rd-and-19 gets the media mouth job

21) To Dan Dierdorf, a hot read slant off a blitz that hits the WR in the hands is a bad throw

20) Rackers missed a 50-yard figgie in the most humiliating way possible

19) The Lee Evans catch reminded Ravens Fans that Evans was on the team

18) While I'd like to chastise the Ravens for the lack of originality in a dive play to Rice on fourth and goal, that was also a huge play by the defense

17) The unit that deserves to advance more than any other is the Houston defense

16) It's hard to overstate the value of Foster to this team, especially considering that they barely used Ben Tate today at all

15) Screen passes when your offensive line hasn't given up a sack and is running the ball well speaks to Kubiak's genius

14) Judging by Webb's second pick of the day, it's not clear that Yates has the ability to see color

13) Flacco became "slippery" in the pocket after the first 54 minutes of being very sticky

12) The Ravens had no penalties or turnovers, home field advantage, and were opposing a special teams and QB that couldn't avoid giveaways, and were still in an absolute dogfight

11) CBS was able to find a crying Texans fan, which is always important in the wee minutes

10) Houston calling a timeout inspired two incompletions and a spectacular amount of time on the clock for Houston

9) Had Harbaugh kicked the field goal from the 1, Cundiff's 44-yard figgie with 2:52 left would have iced the game

8) If there is anything more predictable than post-whistle shoving at a Ravens game, I haven't seen it

7) I understand Terrell Suggs played in this game, but it's just a rumor

6) Ed Reed at the two minute mark for the clinching pick was a terrible play by Yates, but good God in heaven, give it up for the man's sense of place and timing

5) There's no way the Texans lose this game if they had Matt Scahaub, and maybe even Matt Leinart

4) The Texans' defense stopping the Ravens again to give their offense one last shot was downright manly

3) I'm reasonably certain that we've just watched the last start of Yates' NFL career

2) Reed had to be carried off after the final meaningful play of the game, on the off chance that Ravens Fan might have felt good about the win and non-cover

1) You will all forgive New England Fan for planning their Super Bowl trip