When the Baltimore Ravens strode into NRG Stadium, CJ Stroud and the Houston Texans knew they had a tough battle on their hands. But it seems they lost that fight as they were embarrassed at home at the hands of Lamar Jackson and his teammates.
In the first half, Stroud and his offensive teammates could not muster up a single point. Then coming out in the second half, his early interception deflated their morale, and they went on to lose 2-31. Those two points came off a safety their defense forced the Ravens into early in the second quarter.
However, those were all the points the team managed to score. In what would be the most embarrassing game of CJ Stroud’s career, they failed to get into scoring positions despite having eleven attempts to do so.
The same was felt on the defensive side, as they could not stop the Ravens from scoring at will. So much so, that former tight end and current analyst Greg Olsen had this to say after he saw their body language and schemes on a Mark Andrews touchdown.
I’m not really sure exactly what Houston is doing here. It’s just the most simple Day 1 play action goal line pass. That’s the first pass every team puts in. He’s open by ten yards, there’s not a guy in the screen. It’s been a tough day for what’s been a great defense.
Greg Olsen on Texans defense
Greg Olsen’s words seemingly gave a damning summation of the Houston Texans performance. They could not get the simple things going. Even their body language suggested they wanted to end their night as soon as possible. Not the best traits when wanting to win a game.
Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry’s ground game embarrassed Houston Texans defense
The Baltimore Ravens defense denying CJ Stroud and his offense any scoring opportunities in forty-eight minutes of football is a testament of the improvements they have shown over the past few games. On the other hand, their offense has been playing well against good defenses off late.
Most of their attacks have been coming from Lamar Jackson‘s arm and Derrick Henry‘s legs. Tonight, they took it up a notch as their combined ground yards was enough to cover what the Texans offense managed as a whole.
Jackson ran for 87 yards and Derrick Henry pounded 147 of them on the ground. That was enough to leave the Houston Texans defense look helpless. This combination has proved helpful before, but not in this manner.
Derrick Henry’s bullying runs tired out the Texans defense in the first half. That is why they could not get a handle on Jackson in the second once he hit top speed. If the Texans are to win in the playoffs, their defense needs to step up against such adversity.
