Joe Flacco, Ravens Beat Texans as Tom Savage Commits 3 Turnovers on MNF

The Baltimore Ravens still have question marks offensively, but the defense is keeping them in the AFC playoff race. 

Three forced turnovers—including two in the final five minutes—were enough to help the Ravens earn a 23-16 victory over the Houston Texans on Monday night. The win was the team's 10th straight at home in prime time, per ESPN Stats and Info.

Baltimore moved to 6-5 on the year and into the No. 6 spot in the AFC playoff race, while the Texans are now just 4-7 after their fourth loss in five games.

The game wasn't exactly a battle of elite quarterbacks, which was apparent to those watching:

Tom Savage finished with 252 passing yards but had zero touchdowns and two interceptions. Joe Flacco spent the day checking down and threw for 141 yards on 32 attempts, marking the fifth time this year he has averaged fewer than five yards per attempt in a game.

He did help out with 42 rushing yards, including a 25-yard bootleg that sealed the win, but the poor passing efficiency continued a rough trend.

On the other hand, the defense remained impressive. Only the Jacksonville Jaguars have allowed fewer than Baltimore's 17 points per game, and the Ravens lead the league in takeaways with 26. 

Pete Gilbert of WBAL sums up the plan for Baltimore:

The ugly play was apparent early, although the coaching staff helped kick-start the offense in the first half. Baltimore punted on its first three drives but went in a different direction on the next two. The team finally gained some momentum behind this fake-punt pass from Sam Koch:

After a Savage interception, the Ravens scored a second touchdown on a five-play drive that included a 29-yard Alex Collins run on fourth down.

The aggressiveness paid off and helped Baltimore earn a 17-10 lead going into the half.

It was a defensive battle from there, with neither team able to get into the end zone and seemingly every drive ending in a punt.

The Texans had a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but Terrell Suggs came through with a strip-sack to give the ball back to the Ravens offense:

Suggs had two sacks in the win, giving him five in the last three games. An Anthony Levine Sr. interception on the ensuing drive ruined any chance at a Texans comeback.

It wasn't necessarily an exciting game for fans, with the only impressive offensive performance on either side coming from DeAndre Hopkins. The Texans receiver had seven catches for 125 yards, impressing another star at the position:

The Texans will likely have their season on the line in Week 13 with a road matchup against the division rival Tennessee Titans. The Ravens will host the Detroit Lions in a battle of teams looking for wild-card spots.

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from Bleacher Report - Baltimore Ravens http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2746368-joe-flacco-ravens-beat-texans-as-tom-savage-commits-3-turnovers-on-mnf