The Texans offense entered the game averaging 16 points per game. It had a get-right game against Baltimore’s struggling and injury-ravaged defense.
Houston scored on its first eight possessions. The Texans didn’t punt until midway through the fourth quarter when their backup quarterback entered the game. Texans starting quarterback C.J. Stroud threw four touchdowns and completed 23 of 27 attempts.
Arguably, the best news of the day for the defense was when cornerback Nate Wiggins passed the concussion protocol. Baltimore didn’t suffer any more (noticeable) injuries.
Offensively, the Ravens ground to a halt without Jackson under center. A rushing attack that was needed to buoy the unit never got going. Derrick Henry had six carries for eight yards on the Ravens’ first two drives and finished with just 33 yards on 15 rushes.
That put Cooper Rush, who made his first start as a Raven, in tougher situations, which were exacerbated by penalties. Rush started hot, but threw three interceptions in the second half to short-circuit any hope of a comeback.
Getting the rushing attack on track, especially with Jackson out, is at the top of the priority list, but it’s not the only item.
“It’s just not clicking right now,” Henry said. “We just need to play better. It’s easy to finger-point when everything is going bad. We haven’t been playing good [and] have not been a good football team, but you just have to go back to work.”