What the Texans must do is stop the run, avoid turnovers, and revert to blitzing. The pressure is coming from Baltimore, who lead the NFL in sacks. They get another chance when there are turnovers. C.J. Stroud, the quarterback, must play just as well as he did against Cleveland. Act as though they have nothing at stake. The Ravens must play their style of football. For the entire season, they were in the top defensive and offensive units. They ought to be in better shape than they have been, and it would be tremendous if tight end Mark Andrews recovered from his ankle injury. In these important games, rely on their experience.
The selection: Despite how talented Stroud is, the Ravens will blitz more than Cleveland did. This wager is on Baltimorerce one or more turnovers and then pull away in the second half following a close first half. TEXANS 20; RAVENS 28 The Packers’ quarterback, Jordan Love, must continue to perform as he has been. The youngest club in the NFL, the Packers, struggled early in the campaign and lost the NFC North, but they played well against Dallas last week. Put an early pressure on 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy and stifle San Francisco’s ground game. The 49ers must impede Aaron Jones, the rushing back for the Packers. To do what Love did in Dallas, the Packers must be able to run the ball. Get over the rust since the 49ers haven’t participated in a significant game since New Year’s Eve. Use their front four to really drive home the pass rush. Attacking, start sprinting back McCaffrey, Christian
What the Bucs must do to maintain the play-action passing game is to keep trying to run the ball while sprinkling in some ground attacks. When the ball reaches its explosive receivers, Tampa Bay performs at its highest level. Remember that quarterback Baker Mayfield just finished a tremendous game, so don’t start giving up easy points right away. Cut off Detroit’s supply chain. The Lions must establish the run in order to initiate play-action. Deliver the ball to Sam LaPorta, the rookie tight end who came back from a horrific injury to play against the Rams. Increase the pressure on Mayfield right away to relieve some of the load on that mediocre secondary. Detroit’s defense has not been up to par.
