ESPN
| PUNDIT | PROJECTED WINNER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|---|
| Stephania Bell |
 |
|
| Matt Bowen |
|
|
| Mike Clay |
|
|
| Jeremy Fowler |
|
|
| Dan Graziano |
|
|
| Kimberly Martin |
|
|
| Eric Moody |
|
|
| Jason Reid |
|
|
| Lindsey Thiry |
|
|
| Seth Wickersham |
 |
BALTIMORE SUN
| PUNDIT | PROJECTED WINNER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|---|
| Childs Walker |
|
Ravens 21, Texans 24 “The good news for the Ravens is that C.J. Stroud, now missing two of his top three receivers, has not been at his best for most of this season. It will be difficult for Houston to keep up if the Ravens’ offense plays even an average game. The Texans have played close games against top opponents but have fallen short in most of those. That pattern will hold against Baltimore.” |
| Brian Wacker |
|
Ravens 24, Texans 14 “The Texans have perhaps the best defense in the NFL. The Ravens have the league’s top offense in yards per game and are third in scoring. It’s a delicious matchup. Lamar Jackson is also operating at an elite level and Houston is so desperate at wide receiver after losing Stefon Diggs and now Tank Dell that it claimed jettisoned and fractious Diontae Johnson off waivers this week. Those losses put a serious cramp in the Texans’ offense against an ascendant Ravens defense, while Baltimore’s offense has been regaining its rhythm and momentum in recent weeks.” |
| C.J. Doon |
|
Ravens 30, Texans 13 “The Texans’ defense is certainly formidable, but Lamar Jackson should be able to neutralize pass rushers Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr. while Derrick Henry pounds away against a soft interior and a trio of linebackers who all weigh less than him. Ravens and Beyoncé fans should be “Crazy in Love” with this matchup. (Sorry.)” |
| Tim Schwartz |
|
Ravens 34, Texans 14 “Prevent Nico Collins from taking over the game, and that should be enough for the Ravens. … It feels like a bigger mismatch than it might be on paper since the Texans’ secondary is the NFL’s best on paper, but the Ravens are not one-dimensional. Derrick Henry will get his share of carries, Lamar Jackson will get all of his playmakers involved and Baltimore will roll in what will be a rout.” |
| Bennett Conlin |
|
Ravens 27, Texans 20 “Ravens Coach John Harbaugh and quarterback Lamar Jackson spent part of Monday’s news conference discussing Beyoncé and her upcoming halftime show for this showdown. Texans Coach DeMeco Ryans spent his news conference explaining how the team hopes to emotionally move on from losing a standout wide receiver (Tank Dell) and safety (Jimmie Ward). Baltimore feels like it’s better prepared physically and mentally for a short week, as the Ravens are overflowing with confidence and playing loose after taking down the Steelers for just the second time in 10 tries.” |
BALTIMORE BANNER
| PUNDIT | PROJECTED WINNER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|---|
| Jonas Shaffer |
|
Ravens 28, Texans 13 “Even if the Ravens have only a slight advantage on offense, their defense should have no trouble harassing Houston. Quarterback C.J. Stroud has a shabby offensive line protecting him and, thanks to more bad injury luck, only two legitimate receivers to target: wide receiver Nico Collins and tight end Dalton Schultz. At the end of a three-games-in-11-days stretch, the deeper, healthier team is always the safer bet.” |
| Kyle Goon |
|
Ravens 27, Texans 17 “The strength-on-strength matchup of the Ravens’ offense against the Texans’ defense should be compelling. Houston has given up just 9 rushing TDs and plucked 19 interceptions. Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry will need to be at their best. But on the other end, Baltimore’s defensive improvement dovetails well with the Texans’ inability to score. As long as the secondary manages to keep a lid on Nico Collins, Baltimore should show itself to be a higher class of contender than Houston for a second straight year.” |
| Giana Han |
|
Ravens 28, Texans 17 “The Ravens’ offense is humming again, and Derrick Henry tends to get better as the season goes on. Buoyed by their long-awaited win over the Steelers, the Ravens will deliver their fans the best Christmas gift they’ve got: a win.” |
| Paul Mancano |
|
Ravens 30, Texans 20 “In his nine NFL seasons, Henry averages 5.14 yards per carry in the final month of the calendar year. With Justice Hill expected to be sidelined Wednesday, Henry’s attempts could reach the 20-25 mark for the second straight week. Oh, and Henry loves playing against the Texans. In 14 career games against Houston, he’s racked up a whopping 1,431 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.” DeMeco Ryans’ unit has been stellar against the run all season, but they haven’t faced a rushing attack like this.” |
| Brandon Weigel |
|
Ravens 27, Texans 20 “Part of the Texans’ shortcomings are due to health, with Diggs, wide receiver Tank Dell, safety Jalen Pitre and safety Jimmie Ward all landing on injured reserve. That should give the Ravens an edge, even if key contributors Zay Flowers and Justice Hill, who haven’t practiced as of this writing, are not able to go. Baltimore is more battle-tested, and it looks like they’re starting to live up to their potential on both offense and defense.” |
USA TODAY
| PUNDIT | PROJECTED WINNER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|---|
| Jarrett Bell |
|
Ravens 31, Texans 20 |
| Chris Bumbaca |
|
Ravens 29, Texans 22 |
| Nate Davis |
|
Ravens 33, Texans 24 |
| Tyler Dragon |
|
Ravens 27, Texans 24 |
| Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz |
|
Ravens 27, Texans 14 |
| Lorenzo Reyes |
|
Ravens 26, Texans 20 |
NFL.com
| PUNDIT | PROJECTED WINNER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|---|
| Ali Bhanpuri |
|
Ravens 27, Texans 20 |
| Brooke Cerosimo |
|
Ravens 28, Texans 20 “Having clinched a playoff berth last week, Baltimore is blossoming into a group that could make a deep run. Beating a Texans team that is 1-4 against opponents .500 or better this season feels like the next notch on the belt for John Harbaugh's group.” |
| Dan Parr |
|
Ravens 28, Texans 24 |
| Gennaro Filice |
|
Ravens 29, Texans 21 |
| Tom Blair |
|
Ravens 27, Texans 20 |
NFL NETWORK
| Pundit | Projected Winner | Commentary |
|---|---|---|
| Adam Rank |
|
Ravens 26, Texans 22 |
| Colleen Wolfe |
|
Ravens 27, Texans 21 |
| Marcas Grant |
|
Ravens 27, Texans 21 |
| Maurice Jones-Drew |
|
Ravens 23, Texans 20 |
| Daniel Jeremiah |
|
Texans 24, Ravens 23 |
| Nick Shook |
|
Ravens 24, Texans 19 |
| Kevin Patra |
|
Ravens 23, Texans 20 |
| Bucky Brooks |
|
Ravens 28, Texans 21 |
| Grant Gordon |
|
Ravens 27, Texans 17 |
| Eric Edholm |
|
Ravens 27, Texans 20 |
SPORTING NEWS
| PUNDIT | PROJECTED WINNER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|---|
| Vinnie Iyer |
|
Ravens 27, Texans 20 “The Texans are limping toward the finish line with a beefy part of their conference schedule. With some key injuries, there's little upside to them winning here, while the Ravens are more motivated to steal back the AFC North lead from the Steelers for good.” |
CBS SPORTS
| PUNDIT | PROJECTED WINNER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|---|
| Pete Prisco |
|
|
| Jared Dubin |
|
|
| Ryan Wilson |
|
|
| John Breech |
|
Ravens 30, Texans 20 “The Texans just got hit with a devastating injury (Tank Dell), they don't really have anything to play for since they've already clinched the AFC South, so this feels like a spot where they might go a little conservative with their game plan. On the other hand, this game means everything to the Ravens, who would take a huge step toward winning the AFC North if they can win in Houston.” |
| Tyler Sullivan |
|
|
| Dave Richard |
|
|
| Jamey Eisenberg |
|
PRO FOOTBALL TALK
| PUNDIT | PROJECTED WINNER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Florio |
|
Ravens 28, Texans 20 |
| Chris Simms |
|
Ravens 31, Texans 20 |
SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
| PUNDIT | PROJECTED WINNER | COMMENTARY |
|---|---|---|
| Albert Breer |
|
|
| Mitch Goldich |
|
|
| Gilberto Manzano |
|
|
| Conor Orr |
|
|
| John Pluym |
|
|
| Matt Verderame |
|
