AFC Notes

In a rematch of last season’s AFC Divisional Playoffs, the Baltimore Ravens (5-1) travel to face the Houston Texans (5-1) at Reliant Stadium on Sunday (CBS, 1:00 PM ET) with the AFC’s best record on the line. 

“You look at both of these teams’ records and they both only have one loss,” says NFL Network analyst HEATH EVANS. “It’s still early in the season, but home-field advantage for the postseason can weigh heavily on these games.”

Ravens head coach JOHN HARBAUGH, who can record his 50th career regular season win (49-21, .700) on Sunday, says regardless of the stakes, the focus is to take one game at a time.

“We’re going to go play a game,” says Harbaugh. “It’s going to count at the end, and it’s going to matter on our record and it’s going to matter on their record when it all comes down at the end. You add them up as you go.”

Through Week 6, the Ravens and Texans have identical records, but the two teams are similar in other key statistical categories. Here are a few notable statistical comparisons between the two clubs:

SOLID QB PLAY:  Quarterbacks JOE FLACCO of Baltimore and MATT SCHAUB of Houston sit atop their club record books in career passing yards and touchdowns and most importantly share a common thread related to winning. Flacco and Schaub rank second and fourth respectively among starting quarterbacks with the highest winning percentage since 2011 (minimum 10 starts).

The highest winning percentage among starting quarterbacks since 2011 (minimum 10 starts):

-- AFC --

PRODUCTION OUT OF THE BACKFIELD: All-Star running backs ARIAN FOSTER of the Texans and RAY RICE of the Ravens are complete backs that make an impact in the rushing and passing game. Since 2010, Foster (134.1) and Rice (120.0) rank first and second in the NFL for the most scrimmage yards per game.

Most scrimmage yards per game in the NFL since 2010:

-- AFC --

GAME-CHANGERS ON “D”: The Ravens and Texans defenses set the tone by limiting opponents in points, pressuring the passer and takeaways. Since 2011, the two clubs rank in the top five in fewest points allowed per game, sacks and best turnover ratio among AFC teams.

The fewest points per game allowed among AFC teams since 2011:

The most sacks among AFC teams since 2011:

The best turnover ratio among AFC teams since 2011: