The Ravens have one of the toughest tasks possible this week, trying to win a game without their starting quarterback and with a ton of backups.

While the Texans' 1-3 record may not seem scary on paper, they are one of the most intimidating defenses in football. What does that mean? They will likely have to simplify the playbook and adjust to a new life without a mobile quarterback. 

This should lead to a heavy dose of the one good player we know the Ravens have, Derrick Henry. While the Texans will likely tailor their whole game plan to stopping Henry, it only takes one run. This team will be in a really ugly place if the Ravens lose this, and I would expect them to lean on their leader to beat this tough defense.

They have gotten dragged into a lot of pass heavy scripts this season, but this is one of the few games where both teams should see some pretty heavy rushing volume.

The Woody Marks train has finally left the station! The rookie running back finally played more than Nick Chubb last week, and I would expect that trend to continue. Despite coming into camp as the #3 option, Marks has been nothing but impressive earning himself a full time role.

He’s both good as a pass catcher and on the ground, and even though this offensive line is bad, this is one of the few games where they are expected to run plenty. The Texans are one of the least aggressive passing teams in football and I think Marks will benefit. 

The Ravens are currently surrendering the 5th-most rushing yards to opposing running backs. He gets most of his runs of gap schemes, which the Ravens are allowing the 2nd worst YPC and success rate on those carries. He is the future of this backfield and this game should stay close enough where he can run the ball plenty.

While I think they are going to run the ball as much as possible, someone will actually have to catch passes.

While Isaiah Likely is back, they also need Mark Andrews on the field for blocking, and he should dominate snaps. In Isaiah Likely's first game back Mark Andrews route share fell to 57%, But he still had a 27% target share. 

While Rush isn’t the best quarterback, he does have a track record of being a solid backup with the Cowboys. The Texans have great outside corners, so we have constantly targeted them with TE’s through the air. Going against a strong defense, I think they will be forced to throw the ball short and Andrews will benefit most.

Nico Collins is one of the best receivers in football, he just hasn’t gotten a chance to show it this season. With all the offensive line problems this season they haven’t been able to throw the ball down the field.

The good news about this matchup is that he gets an incredibly injured Ravens defense that is down there best pass rusher, rush defender, and linebacker. With a weakened defense, Stroud should have much more time in the pocket to look downfield for Collins. 

He also just has really minimal competition. Christian Kirk is back and will be involved, but beyond that Stroud really doesn’t spread the ball around much. They will use some Dalton Schultz at TE, but he’s looked pretty slow.

He will continue to dominate target share, and with all the Ravens injuries, I think he will be more Involved than people expected