Ravens: O-line prepares for tough challenge against Chiefs OLBs

The Ravens' offensive line will have its hands full trying to stop Chiefs OLB Justin Houston, who took down Drew Brees in Week 3. (US Presswire)

After surrendering four sacks and six quarterback hits against Cleveland, the Ravens' offensive line has yet another challenging front seven on tap Sunday.

The unit will face Chiefs OLBs Tamba Hali and Justin Houston, who have combined for five sacks and seven tackles for loss. Houston, who has four of those sacks, figures to line up over Ravens RT Kelechi Osemele, a rookie out of Iowa State.

Osemele's been off to a solid start, though the Browns ran some different stunts he wasn't used to seeing that caused a few miscues last week.

Osemele knows he'll have his hands full against Houston, who he described as one of the faster players he's had to prepare for this season.

"He's really talented and has a quick burst off the edge," Osemele said. "He's really good with his hands and has a pretty good bull (rush) too -- he's physical. He pretty much has the whole package."

Osemele and the Ravens do go against a 3-4 base defense each day in practice, which could better prepare them for the Chiefs' front. Then again, not every team has a tandem of outside linebackers as good as Kansas City.

RG Marshal Yanda said the Chiefs move Hali around and line him up in various positions. It keeps offensive lines on their toes, knowing they could face a different player one-on-one on any play.

"He'll test the left side, he'll test the right side," Yanda said. "Obviously, that guy's a hell of a player. They want to get mismatches on him so they're going to move him around a little bit. We've seen him inside, they'll put him on the guards too, right tackle and left tackle. They're going to move him around as much as they can because the guy is who he is."

Kansas City's pass rush has been effective enough to limit teams to an average of 216 passing yards per game, 12th best in the league.

But the unit has been burned for 10 passing touchdowns, which ranks second to last in the league. The Hali-Houston duo will look to slow the Ravens, the NFL's second-ranked offense, this weekend. It'll be up to the offensive line to keep quarterback Joe Flacco's jersey clean.

"They have a lot of different moves they can use," Osemele said. "The challenge is being physically and mentally prepared that you're going against two really great players."

Follow Ravens reporter Jason Butt on Twitter @CBSRavens and @JasonButtCBS.