Texans vs. Ravens Start 'Em, Sit 'Em - C.J. Stroud, Devin Singletary, Nico Collins, Lamar Jackson, Zay Flowers, Mark Andrews, more

The Divisional round of the NFL Playoffs gets underway on Saturday afternoon. Below you can read our matchups analysis article for the Texans vs. Ravens game to help make any fantasy lineup decisions for playoff leagues and DFS contests.

These two teams are in very different places, as the upstart Houston Texans and rookie QB C.J. Stroud surprisingly won the AFC South before blowing out the Cleveland Browns in the Wild Card round. Meanwhile, behind MVP frontrunner Lamar Jackson, the Baltimore Ravens are an experienced and veteran group that's the current favorite to win this year's Super Bowl title.

Read our fantasy football breakdowns for this game -- the recommended starts, sits, and matchups we love heading into an exciting game during the Divisional round. Good luck, RotoBallers!

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Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens

Spread: Ravens -9.5
Implied Total: Texans (17) vs. Ravens (26.5)
Pace: Texans (8th) vs. Ravens (27th)
Texans Off. DVOA: 25.0% Pass (10th), -19.1% Rush (30th)
Ravens Off. DVOA: 32.1% Pass (5th), 18.3% Rush (1st)
Texans Def. DVOA: 13.0% Pass (23rd), -17.2% Rush (2nd)
Ravens Def. DVOA: -28.8% Pass (1st), -14.3% Rush (7th)
PFF Coverage Grade: Texans (9th) vs. Ravens (2nd)
PFF Rush D Grade: Texans (16th) vs. Ravens (14th)
Offensive EPA/Play: Texans (15th) vs. Ravens (6th)
EPA/Play Allowed: Texans (14th) vs. Ravens (2nd)

WEATHER: This game is forecasted to be cold with moderate sustained wind, which could impact the passing attacks.

Matchups We Love

Lamar Jackson (QB, BAL)

We open up the weekend with the AFC's top seed hosting a surging Texans squad. While Houston enters this one with a ton of confidence and momentum, it's easy to forget just how dominant Jackson and the Ravens were down the stretch. Not including when they rested their starters in Week 18, their last loss was in a 33-31 thriller against Cleveland way back in Week 10. They went 6-0 down the stretch, knocking off quality opponents such as the Rams, Dolphins, and 49ers. Furthermore, they suffered just three losses with their starters active by a combined 12 points.

Jackson ended the year on fire, averaging 250 passing yards, 57 rushing yards, and 2.3 touchdowns during their six-game winning streak. Houston's defense deserves credit for causing havoc for Joe Flacco last week, but the undisputed MVP is the QB2 this week.

Ravens TEs

Earning the first-round bye not only allowed the team to rest their active players but also to open the practice window for Mark Andrews. We know what his presence means for Jackson and the offense, so he'd give them an extra boost. It would be a detriment to Isaiah Likely, who has been fantastic in his absence. Andrews practiced in full and is listed as questionable, which indicates he should be out there. The question is whether they'll ease him in and to what extent. We'll await reports over the weekend, but an educated guess would be that Andrews and Likely split the snaps with Andrews playing more in the red zone and on key downs. In that scenario, Andrews and Likely would be around the top five.

UPDATE: NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports that Andrews is not likely to play vs. Texans.

Not yet: The #Ravens are not expected to activate star TE Mark Andrews from Injured Reserve to play against the #Texans, as he’s not quite ready to return from a significant ankle injury.

Perhaps next week, as a potential AFC Championship Game appearance was always the goal. pic.twitter.com/PRqnn2eIYz

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 19, 2024

Zay Flowers (WR, BAL)

The other player who benefited from Andrews missing time is Flowers, who has emerged as the clear No. 1 option. He's also shown the ability to produce in different ways, sometimes with higher volume on shorter throws and other times with downfield targets. Houston's top CB, Derek Stingley Jr., blanketed Amari Cooper last week, allowing only one catch for a loss of six yards when shadowing him. It's probably more of a concern for the other wideouts who tend to play outside the majority of the time, but it does drop Flowers into the WR8-WR10 range.

C.J. Stroud (QB, HOU)

Stroud absolutely balled out against the Browns, torching them on deep throws while protecting the ball. The play calling was masterful, constantly creating wide-open looks, which Stroud frequently found. He finished with an outrageous 157.2 passer rating totaling 274 passing yards and three touchdowns, despite narrowly missing a couple of deep shots that could have further added to his day. It'll be a tougher test on the road in Baltimore, but he seems ready for the challenge, slotting in as the QB4.

This play design and execution on the throw from CJ Stroud…

Beautiful.
pic.twitter.com/dOQI83ml72

— Travis May (@FF_TravisM) January 13, 2024

Nico Collins (WR, HOU)

Stroud's top option is of course Collins, who cannot be stopped. He was one of the receivers that nearly hauled in a long bomb, but still finished with six receptions for 96 yards and a score. In addition, he did so in a mostly positive game script while accounting for a 31.8% target share. Baltimore's secondary has been a sum of the parts group, led by Kyle Hamilton who is known more for his ability to create turnovers than his coverage. Collins is firmly in the top five as high as WR3.

Matchups We Hate

Robert Woods & John Metchie III (WR, HOU)

The secondary receivers for Houston have struggled to produce during the second half of the year when they began to pound the rock more. That suits the approach against Baltimore, who has been better statistically against the pass. It's also a great way to take time off the clock and avoid becoming one-dimensional, making it the most likely outcome. Noah Brown entered last week banged up and then exited with a shoulder injury that will sideline him for the remainder of the playoffs. That leaves Woods and Metchie as the next two with Xavier Hutchinson behind them. However, all three are lower in the pecking order than at least one, if not both tight ends, so they're best avoided.

Texans WR Usage on Saturday:

• Nico Collins: 20 routes, 7 targets
• Robert Woods: 8 routes, 2 targets
• John Metchie: 15 routes, 3 targets
• Xavier Hutchinson: 7 routes, 2 targets
• Noah Brown: 4 routes, 1 target (injury)

Nico has seen a 32% target share the past 3 games… pic.twitter.com/zyf8J2o4uN

— SAL VETRI (@SalVetriDFS) January 16, 2024

Other Matchups:

Dalton Schultz (TE, HOU)

The starting tight end we referenced above is Schultz, who has thrived when they are missing pass-catchers. His lone reception went for a touchdown, but as we mentioned, the game script resulted in 22 passing attempts, so there wasn't much volume to go around. Despite their preference to have a balanced approach, they'll almost certainly need to air it out more than that. Brevin Jordan has long been a talented prospect who has yet to see a full-time role with a competent quarterback. His speed was on full display last week, taking a short pass 76 yards to the house. It's a decent matchup, making Schultz the more reliable choice as the TE6 on the week while Jordan is more of a DFS dart throw.

Devin Singletary (RB, HOU)

Singletary ran hard and found space for the occasional big play. He also made his way into the end zone and caught three passes, which was tied for second with Metchie behind Collins. The awesome usage was there again for Singletary, who ceded just one carry to Dameon Pierce until they pulled their starters in the fourth quarter. He figures to see 15-plus touches, including the goal line role, landing him in the RB7 spot.

Devin Singletary has had a really nice season for the #Texans. pic.twitter.com/plZqbwYbWf

— Cody Stoots (@Cody_Stoots) January 13, 2024

Gus Edwards & Justice Hill (RB, BAL)

After losing Keaton Mitchell, the Ravens reverted to this duo. Edwards is a touchdown machine when they get inside the five-yard line while Hill plays almost every passing down. During the three contests that they played without Mitchell, Hill narrowly played more snaps, earned a 23% target share, and was in on 87% of the long-distance down snaps and 90% of the two-minute drill snaps. Edwards, on the other hand, saw almost three times as many carries and all of the attempts inside the five they combined for. The options at tailback are limited with only eight teams remaining, but they're both well outside the top five with Hill as a slight favorite, especially in full-PPR formats.

Odell Beckham Jr. & Rashod Bateman (WR, BAL)

Similar to the Texans, the secondary wideouts have been hard to nail down in terms of who is going to have a productive week and when, especially since Flowers and Likely emerged. The matchup is pretty good and there's likely to be plenty of points scored, but even Beckham Jr., who remains the preferred selection of the group that features him, Bateman, and Nelson Agholor, is around WR15, giving you plenty of other players to consider this weekend.

Notable Injuries

Mark Andrews (ankle)
Noah Brown (shoulder)

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