Baltimore Ravens looking forward to "meaningful" Christmas Day game in Houston
BALTIMORE -- For the second year in a row, the Baltimore Ravens will be on the road, playing on Christmas Day.
The Ravens (10-5), fresh off a 34-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, turnaround and play at the Houston Texans (9-6) at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The game will be televised nationally on Netflix, but also locally on WJZ.
The Ravens are 2-1 on Christmas Day. They beat the San Francisco 49ers 33-19 last season.
Prior to that, they lost to the Steelers on Christmas Day in 2016 and beat the Minnesota Vikings 30-23 in 2005.
"It's meaningful, because if I'm going to talk about it in those kind of terms, and spiritual terms, it's a chance to bring glory on a glorious day," Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said. "I would say and an opportunity to kind of shine in that way before men. A lot of people are going to be watching, so we want to put our best foot forward and do it the right way."
The Ravens and Texans will follow Pittsburgh and Kansas City as the two NFL Christmas Day games.
Beyoncé will perform live at halftime of the Ravens game.
"I'm going to go out there and watch, my first time seeing Beyoncé perform and it's at our game, that's dope," Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson said. "Sorry Harbaugh, sorry fellas."
"It's an honor"
The Ravens and Texans will be meeting for the third time in two seasons. Baltimore won both meetings last season, including a 34-10 win in the AFC Divisional Playoff round.
The players are looking forward to playing on Christmas despite being on the road, again.
"I don't dislike it," Ravens offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley said. "I think it's an honor to play on Christmas Day, because first of all, it's an important day; it's Christmas. There are not that many games on. It's a very big stage to play on, so it's definitely an honor."
"It's a present for everyone," Jackson said. "They get to see us play and a lot of eyes on us. I believe a lot of people are going to be watching us at the right time."