Arian Foster vs. Baltimore Ravens run D a key matchup

The Baltimore Ravens won’t have Haloti Ngata until the postseason, so it will be interesting how the run defense does tomorrow in an extremely difficult test against Arian Foster and the Houston Texans. If it wasn’t for DeMarco Murray‘s terrific year with the Dallas Cowboys, we would be talking about how Foster is the best running back in the NFL right now. After missing half of the 2013 season with an injury, Foster has slogged past some nagging issues this season to put up some truly remarkable numbers. It’s not like he’s facing an easy matchup, though, since the Ravens run defense is still among the best in the NFL even without Ngata swallowing up blockers.

In fact, you could make the case that Ngata isn’t even the Ravens best run defender on the defensive line, because that distinction could go to the underrated and beastly Brandon Williams, who has a hefty 41 tackles this season. He’s probably one of the most underrated defensive linemen in the league right now, but hopefully he’ll earn more recognition as he continues to do the dirty work up front. Williams isn’t much of a pass rusher, but he plugs up holes in the running game and, as the tackles indicate, is more than capable of taking down the ball-carrier himself.

Everybody knows that the Ravens linebackers are capable of taking down rushers, and they are an even bigger reason for the Ravens standing as the league’s fifth-best run defense with just 3.7 yards per carry allowed. While this defense is weak against the pass, they don’t give up much ground against the run, especially after adding a new star performer in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft.

Most people had Alabama product C.J. Mosley tabbed as a future star, and his ability to cover, blitz, and bring an edge in the running game made him one of the most well-rounded draft prospects on either side of the ball. Although the Ravens didn’t need an inside linebacker after keeping veteran Daryl Smith and drafting Arthur Brown in the 2013 draft, Ozzie Newsome decided that Mosley was too good to pass up on. He was right, as Mosley has been an underrated DROY candidate. Khaill Mack, Aaron Donald, Anthony Barr, and fellow 3-4 ILB Chris Borland all get more press, but Mosley has also been exceptionally active with eight passes defended, 11 QB hits, and well over 100 tackles. Now that’s well-rounded.

Of course, the Ravens have their mainstays in Terrell Suggs and Smith, who are as steady as it gets when you talk about veteran linebackers. Smith continues to show off his all-around skill-set as a Raven, while Suggs has been as good as ever. It seems like he never has a bad year, and it’s rare to see him put forward a poor performance. In a way, Suggs overshadows himself, because, like James Harrison in his prime, his elite pass rushing prevents people from recognizing his elite run defense, though that has seemingly changed recently. Suggs has 20 QB hits and 13 sacks to go with some hard-nosed run D.

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Those four players aren’t the Ravens only solid run defenders (rookie Timmy Jernigan and veteran DL Chris Canty are also worth praising), because this roster is stocked with them, as evidenced by that 3.7 YPC allowed. But those are the four players that the Texans have to watch out for the most, and the only undisciplined tackler of that quartet is the rookie Mosley, who has, per Pro Football Focus, missed 14 tackles so far this season. Foster is a missed-tackle maven who can break ankles or run over defenders, but Mosley might be the only player he can embarrass on Sunday, aside from Matt Elam, who has missed 16 tackles.

With an average of 4.9 yards per carry and over 1,100 rushing yards to his credit, Arian Foster has been the second-best back in the league this season, and his ability to elude defenders has caused him to grace the highlight reels frequently. Another reason for his bounce-back season is the improvement of the blocking in front of him, as Derek Newton has made strides as a run blocker while center Chris Myers is back at his best in the running game. As Bill O’Brien indicated in the offseason, Foster has played a bigger role in the passing game again with four touchdown catches to go with eight touchdown runs, and with Case Keenum starting I’m sure the Texans will look to Foster more often in the red zone.

The Ravens linebackers- Smith and Mosley- are more than capable of sticking with Foster in coverage, so both battles involving the running back in the passing game and ground attack will be strength-on-strength affairs for the Texans and Ravens. I have a hard time betting against an elite player like Foster, but it would be a shock for him to dominate the Ravens like he’s dominated most opponents this year (average of 102.5 yards per game on the ground). For the Texans to play the spoiler and beat the Ravens, they will most likely need Foster to go off, as DeAndre Hopkins is highly questionable after not practicing this week and Keenum will likely start at QB.

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