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NFL Week 6: Houston Texans Vs Baltimore Ravens

The road gets no easier for the injury-plagued Texans, who have to travel to Baltimore this weekend.

HOUSTON - OCTOBER 09:  Running back Arian Foster #23 of the Houston Texans makes a catch in the flat against the Oakland Raiders at Reliant Stadium on October 9, 2011 in Houston, Texas.  (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON - OCTOBER 09: Running back Arian Foster #23 of the Houston Texans makes a catch in the flat against the Oakland Raiders at Reliant Stadium on October 9, 2011 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
Getty Images

Still reeling from injuries to Andre Johnson and Mario Williams and a tough 25-20 loss to the Oakland Raiders that saw a potentially game-winning touchdown pass intercepted in the end-zone, the Houston Texans travel to Baltimore this weekend in a match-up of AFC divisional leaders.

The Ravens, coming off a bye week, are as strong as ever, with a 3-1 record and a +62 point differential, third best in the NFL. 

It will be match-up of strength on strength upfront. Baltimore, led by the ageless Ray Lewis at MLB, has the league's second-ranked rush defense, while the newly healthy Arian Foster headlines a Houston rushing attack ranked fifth in the NFL.

Without Andre Johnson to stretch the field, Matt Schaub will need to be extremely careful against a ball-hawking Baltimore secondary, who returned three turnovers from New York Jets QB Mark Sanchez for touchdowns in the Ravens 34-17 victory two weeks ago.

Defensively, the Texans will need to focus on stopping Baltimore's rushing tandem of Ray Rice and Ricky Williams, who has eked out a productive career in between stops at the local ashram. Both average over 4.5 yards a carry, taking pressure off of Joe Flacco, who is only completing 49.5% of his passes in his fourth season in the league.

The game will be carried nationally by CBS at 3:05 Sunday. 

For more information on the Ravens, check out Baltimore Beat Down, and for the latest on the Texans, check out the Battle Red Blog

Images by eflon used in background images under a Creative Commons license. Thank you.