Ravens to play on Christmas again in playoff rematch with Texans on Netflix

Baltimore will travel to Houston to play the Texans on Dec. 25, Netflix announced Wednesday.

The Ravens will play on Christmas for a second straight year.

Baltimore will travel to Houston to play the Texans on Dec. 25, Netflix announced Wednesday.

Last year, the Ravens beat the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, California, on “Monday Night Football.” This time, they’ll play at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, and the game will be carried by streaming service Netflix, which will also broadcast the Kansas City Chiefs-Pittsburgh Steelers game at Acrisure Stadium at 1 p.m. that day. In keeping with the NFL’s long-standing holiday tradition, however, the games will air on broadcast TV in the competing teams’ cities.

Baltimore beat the Texans twice at M&T Bank Stadium last season, 25-9 in Week 1 and again in the divisional round of the playoffs, 34-10. Houston’s offense and its star rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud didn’t score a touchdown in either contest, but they played the Ravens to a 10-10 first-half tie in their second meeting, spurred on by a punt return for a touchdown, before Baltimore pulled away in the second half.

The Texans are the early favorites to win the AFC South under second-year coach DeMeco Ryans and Stroud, who was the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year last season.

Houston is expected to be even better this year after trading for four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Stefon Diggs and veteran running back Joe Mixon and signing defensive linemen Danielle Hunter and Denico Autry and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair in free agency.

The Ravens will open their season against the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Sept. 5 in a “Thursday Night Football” showdown that is a rematch of last season’s AFC championship game. The rest of Baltimore’s schedule will be announced at 8 p.m. Wednesday.