The Houston Texans made quite a statement in Week 5, but no one on the team caused a bigger response than rookie Jaylin Noel. At least one member of the Baltimore Ravens took exception when Noel emulated a Ravens legend after scoring his first-career touchdown in Sunday’s game.
That touchdown came with 3:58 left in the third quarter and put the Texans up 41-10. With the Texans threatening to score, quarterback C.J. Stroud faked a toss to running back Woody Marks before finding Noel in the flat on the other side of the field.
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Noel waltzed into the end zone untouched … and then made sure the Ravens took notice. After scoring, Noel celebrated by doing the Ray Lewis dance.
Cornerback Jaire Alexander was not a fan. When Noel went to grab the ball, Alexander tried to take it away. Noel likely wanted to keep the football since it was his first NFL touchdown. Alexander took issue with that. Maybe Alexander misunderstood the situation. Or maybe he was angry with Noel for emulating Lewis.
Noel, 23, had not produced much during the first four games of his career. Entering Week 5, Noel had three catches for 9 yards. While he didn’t have a monster game Sunday, the touchdown catch gave Noel a new career-high in both catches and yards in a single game. He finished the contest with two catches for 13 yards and a score. He also had one rushing attempt for 5 yards.
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Following Noel’s score, the Texans added a field goal to make it 44-10. With Ravens starter Lamar Jackson sidelined due to a hamstring injury and many members of the Ravens’ defense also injured, the Texans ran away with the contest early.
Stroud was a major beneficiary of that, throwing four touchdowns in the win. In addition to finding Noel, Stroud also hit Nico Collins and Xavier Hutchinson in the end zone. While Hutchinson isn’t a rookie, he scored his first two receiving touchdowns in the NFL during the contest.
Big things are expected from Noel after the Texans took him in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft. The production hasn’t been there yet, but Sunday’s game offers hope for Noel after he scored his first NFL touchdown.
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With the win, the Texans improved to 2-3 on the season after starting the year 0-3.
The Ravens, on the other hand, fell to 1-4 with the loss. The team desperately needs its players to get healthy to turn things around. Jackson’s status will be heavily monitored ahead of Week 6. The Ravens’ next opponent: the Los Angeles Rams (3-2) at home.