Biggest Losers From Ravens Abysmal Loss to Texans

Young depth defenders: With all three of their All Pro starters out with injury, the Ravens were first to turn to several of their rookies and second-year pros who wilted in big moments and gave up several key conversions and touchdowns. While defensive coordinator Zach Orr didn't do them any favors with how he called the game, they also didn't help themselves with bad tackling, pursuit angles and general unawareness, whether it was in coverage or in run support.

The Ravens started five rookies, including three in the secondary alone along with second-year pro T.J. Tampa who started over two-time Pro Bowl Jaire Alexander. They were responsible for allowing multiple chunk gains in coverage, and undrafted rookie Keyon Martin had an especially rough outing when it came to penalties, negating his first career sack by jumping offsides and a 60-plus-yard punt from Jordan Stout on special teams.

Offensive Line: With two-time MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson out with a hamstring injury, the top priority for the Ravens offense heading into this game was to establish the run and lean on five-time Pro Bowl running back Derrick Henry. Again, offensive coordinator Todd Monken didn't do a good job of calling plays and often played right into the hands of the Texans' defense, in the end, the Ravens got dominated in the trenches yet again.

They got no consistent push as Henry was either repeatedly running into a wall or stopped in his tracks at or behind the line of scrimmage before he could build any downhill momentum. Two-time Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley was also inactive with an ankle injury, but the other four regular starters suited up and were healthy and collectively disappointed. They performed better in pass protection, as the only time backup quarterback Cooper Rush got sacked was an ill-advised play where he retreated deeper into the backfield instead of just throwing the ball away.

Pass Rush: Even though the Ravens recorded multiple sacks in a game for the second time through the first five weeks, they still were woefully inept and ineffective when it came to generating consistent pressure. With so many starters out at the second and third levels of the defense, the pass rush needed to step up and lead the way and they failed miserably. Behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had one of the best games of his career because he far too often ample time to pick apart the Ravens' pillow-soft off coverage. While he fell one passing touchdown short of pulling off a Jackson Five in front of Lamar Jackson, he finished with as many incompletions as he did passing touchdowns, with 4 of each after going 23-of-27 for 244 passing yards and a passer rating of 143.9.

Run Defense: As if getting carved up through the air wasn't bad enough, the Ravens gave up over 100 yards on the ground for the fifth week in a row to start the season as the Texans racked up 167 yards, a season-high for their previously much-maligned offense, and the second-most the Ravens have given up this year. Between the litany of missed tackles, poor edge-setting and inability of the defensive linemen to get off blocks, it was a pitiful effort all the way around for a team that was the best at stuffing the run last year. It took the Ravens six weeks before they allowed a team to eclipse the century mark on the ground and only allowed to it to happen five times in 17 regular season games in all of 2024.

Tight ends: On a day where the Ravens offense needed to play as close to mistake-free as possible because they couldn't afford any turnovers or to play from behind the chains with long down and distances, both Mark Andrews and Isaiah Likely threw a wrench in that plan. Likely was called for a pair of undisciplined pre-snap penalties that dug the offense deeper holes in the first half, and Andrews bobbled a fourth-quarter pass right into the hands of a Texans defender for the second of Rush's three interceptions.

Playoff hopes: This game was viewed as the most winnable of the two for the Ravens ahead of their much-needed Week 7 bye with the Los Angeles Rams coming to town next week. However, after watching what Stroud and the Texans did to them, they are heading towards being 1-5 by the time their stars return to the lineup. Since the NFL playoff field expanded in 2020 to allow a seventh team in each conference, only two teams that have started 1-4 have advanced to the postseason. Even if the Ravens get healthy and go on a run post-bye, there's a chance they won't be able to dig themselves out of what feels like an insurmountable hole with the way their defense has played thus far, whether they've been fully-stocked or depleted.

Fans: The biggest losers of them all are the passionate fan base that has become accustomed to watching this team play a particular brand of football that is tough, resilient, at times overwhelmingly dominant and always full of pride, no matter whose available. That hasn't been the case in all four quarters in four of their five games, with the lone exception being the Week 2 win over the Cleveland Browns, who have since benched the husk of Joe Flacco. For the first time in the Harbaugh era, they're experiencing what it's like to watch a team with no fight in them and weekly displays of coaching malpractice that even untrained eyes find glaring.