Ravens Hit New Low Point in Embarrassing Texans Loss

The captain of the defense was joined on the sideline by Lamar Jackson, his scoring counterpart. For all of the toys that Baltimore's put around their 2x MVP of a quarterback over the years, he's been necessary in keeping the sinking shift afloat for period, even if he's only won one of the three games he's started and finished.

A hamstring injury he suffered in last week's blowout to the Kansas City Chiefs has kept Jackson from suiting up since midway through that second half, leaving understudy Cooper Rush to take over under center.

Even while he started out by posting solid completion numbers, the Ravens' inability to match the Texans' big play versatility was only underscored with an ill-timed quiet Derrick Henry performance. His team's drawn plenty of criticism for their recent under-deployment of their star power-back, but Henry's getting stonewalled coincided poorly with Houston's first-half domination in his posting 1.8 yards per carry on nine attempts.

Rush stumbled early in the third quarter in a rapid-fire interception-turned-touchdown drive, but he provided his first big burst to Baltimore's offense with a 56-yard conversion to Zay Flowers that he capped off with Henry's touchdown push. Unfortunately for the Ravens, that's where their scoring stopped, as they devoted their dying minutes to keeping Henry active before Rush threw his third and final pick.

The Texans, who averaged 16 points per game and under 290 yards through their first four games, looked fully rejuvenated against the rolled-over Ravens in matching or approaching those stats through the first 30 minutes of regulation. They managed 25 first downs, doubling up the Ravens' dozen in seizing some revenge after their last matchup tipped in the opposite direction.

While Stroud and friends made a big step in digging themselves out of their early pitfall, the Ravens have to find another way to deal with the never-ending slew of injuries and correct their drastic slippage in execution to avoid losing a fourth straight game to keep any remaining playoff hopes alive.