orioles

Ravens @ Texans

Who's going to stop Flacco picking apart a defense containing such powerhouses as Bernard Pollard, Glover Quin and Kareem Jackson?

Not the Texans. Probably.

They are just horrible on defense and, although the Ravens aren't the defensive force they once were, Houston are unlikely to score enough to make a knockdown fight of this.

There are some caveats though; I hate opposing home dogs on MNF (I know it's an exploded myth, but in my addled brain, it persists). Houston is far from toothless on offense, and this is essentially a meaningless game for Baltimore - they have the wildcard, but the Steelers are out of sight.

Arian Foster is a danger on the ground, depending on how Haloti Ngata is controlled. The problem for the Ravens though, is that Foster is also superb catching out of the backfield, so he represents a formidable challenge - and my best chance of winning a bunch of money in a couple of fantasy leagues.

Andre Johnson will see the ball a lot too because, well, he's Andre Johnson. He's over 1,000yds in one less game so far for a reason. The Ravens can be beaten deep, so expect a big game. Schaub should get him the ball - there's talk that the Ravens have something to prove on D, but the numbers say that the pass rush isn't getting there too often and the Texans' O line is holding up ok.

All that said, Flacco, Boldin, Mason and Riceshould make hay and given the Texans' inability to cover the middle, if Heap doesn't play, a cheeky bet on Dickson to score might lift the gloom of a chilly tuesday morning.

Don't go crazy, but Baltimore look more than a field goal better.

Pick: Baltimore Ravens -3 (3*)

Pick: Anquan Boldin 8/1 (0.5pt)
Pick: Anytime TD Andre Johnson 18/19 (1pt); Ed Dickson 12/5 (1pt)