Mario Williams & DeMeco Ryans vs. The Joe Flacco Show

Today I watched a replay of last weekend's game between the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers. It took only 30 minutes. All of the B.S. was cut out, and it was just play after play after play after... whoops, another Matt Schaub interception!

Ravens O vs. Houston D: The best defenders on the Texans are DE Mario Williams and LB DeMeco Ryans. Against the Steelers, both Williams and Ryans showed up to play, even if the rest of the defense did not. Willie Parker ran wild, and Big Ben had all the time in the world, but Williams capitalized when the Steelers O-line got sloppy. Super Mario finished the day with two sacks and one forced fumble, which he stripped beautifully out of Big Ben's hands. The fumble was returned by Ryans, who labored slowly down the field, not entirely unlike when Haloti Ngata ran out of gas last season in the red zone after recovering a fumble.

The Ravens will need to keep a close eye on Super Mario, but even if the O-line plays as well as it did last week, smart money says Williams slips through the cracks at least once. Joe Flacco is a big boy, but he's no bigger than Big Ben, and he's certainly less experienced. When Flacco takes a shot from Williams, he's going to need to hold onto the football. Don't be surprised to see a Flacco fumble courtesy of Mario Williams. Flacco played well in his debut, but let's not kid ourselves: He's a rookie.

Houston's defensive secondary was unimpressive, which puts them right on par with Baltimore's air attack. (Todd Heap, please catch the ball.) Baltimore should keep the ball on the ground. Run, run, run. Pound, pound, pound. Repeat as necessary. Tire out the defense, and then let Flacco take some shots downfield. There's no need to make him a sitting duck earlier than necessary.

Houston O vs. Ravens D: The Houston Texans are in for a world of hurt this weekend. Houston's offensive line looks weak, and QB Matt Schaub's ability to make plays under pressure is suspect. Early on against the Steelers he was able to check-down and find an open receiver for a short gain at the last minute. But as the game wore on, Schaub showed his true colors, throwing two picks directly into the hands of Pittsburgh defenders. Schaub's O-line was leaky, and he panicked under pressure. Rex Ryan must be chomping at the bit. Baltimore's defensive secondary gets a boost with the return of CB Fabian Washington, who was suspended for the team's first game because of disciplinary issues with the league (read: weed). The defensive secondary will need all of the help it can get. Wide receiver Andre Johnson is every bit as good as Chad Johnson or T.J. Houshmandzadeh.