The Day After the Day After…when the raw, immediate emotions from the aftermath of a game diminish into the realm of clarity and the proverbial (or literal) hangover no longer haunts the mind. With that,
a review of Week 5:
When the resistible force meets the moveable object, the resistible force dominated: Coming into this matchup, you had the 29th ranked offense in Houston vs. the 32nd ranked defense in Baltimore. As for Houston’s ranking, that was bumped up by its performance against the Titans the week before. Weakness vs. Weakness. There was the counter of the Texans’ top scoring defense vs. Baltimore’s 3rd ranked offense. However, the loss of Jackson for the Ravens severely hampered that offensive power. Cooper Rush is a decent backup, but he can’t run the Baltimore attack like Jackson (literally or figuratively). Sunday bore that out. The Texans’ defense, without the dual-threat of Jackson, could play strictly against the run and force Rush to try to win via his arm, a winning formula. Derrick Henry only got 33 yards on 15 carries, and the rest of the Ravens’ offense did not muster much of a fight. Meanwhile, the Texans attack picked up from its 4th quarter of the Titans game, scoring on its first 8 drives and putting up the team’s best offensive performance in over a year. Likely the game result would look a bit different with Jackson using his passing and running skills, but with the Ravens having the defense that they do, it might have only helped the offensive numbers for the Ravens. Admittedly, maybe Kyle Hamilton was a more critical loss for the Ravens, as the Texans did a lot of their offensive damage over the middle of the Baltimore secondary where the All-Pro normally dominates.
Where the game turned: The Texans’ longest run of the day: The 2nd quarter turned into a house of horrors for the Ravens. After a solid first drive resulting in a FG and holding the Texans to a matching FG to only be down 10-3, Baltimore’s second possession ended in disaster, with Rush losing 16 yards on a Edwards’ sack and then Baltimore’s special teams committing an ill-timed punt coverage penalty and the subsequent re-kick gave Houston 24 additional yards in field position. After two plays netting seven yards, Houston faced a 3rd and 3 at the BAL 34 with 8:01 left in the 2nd Quarter. Houston hasn’t been one of the better 3rd down teams this year, so Baltimore had high hopes for stopping Houston, holding them to either a long FG attempt, or forcing them to go for it on 4th down. Stroud lined up in shotgun with a 4-WR, 1-RB set. At the snap, everyone takes off, and the Ravens’ defense is set to guard the receivers/passing game. One issue, and perhaps they bought Stroud’s line about not being as explosive at 23, was that they didn’t account for him at all. Stroud will not make anyone think he is Lamar Jackson, but he is mobile enough. He takes off for a massive 30-yard run going down the right sideline, only facing contact inside the BAL 5. That put the Texans at the BAL 4-yard line. A couple of plays later, Stroud found Collins for a 12-yard TD pass (an OPI on Dalton Schultz pushed Houston back for a few plays). Whatever momentum Baltimore had died after the Stroud run. Up 17-3, the defense could just cue on Henry and pressure Rush to their heart’s content.
The question yet again: are the Texans that good or are the Ravens that bad?: One could argue that this game was a get-right matchup, where Houston carried over the offensive momentum from the 4th quarter against the Titans and unleashed a devasting offensive attack that should put the fear of [DURGA] in all teams from here on in. Stroud looked good, the Texans ran the ball effectively and they conquered their Charm City demons in a major way. Yet, Baltimore’s defense is historically bad, having surrendered 37 points or more in their 1st four losses (a first for any team in the Super Bowl era). Likely with Hamilton, Smith and other players back in the lineup, it would help, but this is painful to watch for a Ravens’ squad historically known for punishing defense. At least Houston beat a team that they probably should have beaten, but until Houston faces up against a team with a legitimate defense again, it is hard to know if the last two games are a sign of an emerging offensive threat or just the beneficiary of playing bad teams. The Texans’ defense remains constant, as they have faced down injured/lower-tiered squads like Tennessee and the Ravens, but also the Rams and Bucs, and the squad still allows only 12.2 points/game.
The AFC South > AFC North?: Coming into this season, most figured that the AFC North would be its usual bloodbath, with the Ravens, Bengals and Steelers beating up on each other, and the Browns offering some good defense and comic relief. Meanwhile, the AFC South figured to be the Texans, just by default, as the rest of the division looked devoid of hope and competency. Five weeks in? The Colts with Daniel Jones are leading the AFC South at 4-1, which include a last-second win over the Broncos. The Jaguars lead the league in takeaways (13) and have a winning record, to include taking down the NFC West leading 49ers in their house. With two strong wins in a row, the Texans are re-entering the playoff conversation. Even the Titans finagled a come-from-behind victory over the Cardinals this past Sunday. Meanwhile, the AFC North is not exactly shaping up like everyone thought. Yes, injuries are a huge factor (see Baltimore and Joe Burrow in Cincy). Yet, the Ravens are 1-4 and face the likelihood they may not get to the playoffs. The Bengals are sans Burrow until at least December, and they’ve looked just putrid without him. Cleveland is Cleveland, even as they shown some promise. Pittsburgh leads the division, but they haven’t exactly impressed. You could argue about the overall schedule of the Colts and Jaguars, but in quality of play, can you really say that the North is all that superior to the South? Maybe that changes as the season evolves, but right now, the South actually appears to have more quality teams than the North…words I never thought I would be typing at this point.
FUN WITH NUMBERS:
5.0: Points per game the Matt Burke called defense surrenders a game: Helps when you play a hapless Titans and a sub-WAR level Ravens roster. However, results are results. That The Most Interesting Defensive Coordinator in the World is calling the shots does not hurt. Many felt that Houston might have the one of, if not the, best defense units in the league. Little has dispelled that so far.
1-8: Houston’s all-time record in Baltimore: Prior to this year, M&T Stadium was the House of Usher for Houston. Sure, the Ravens are a weakened team, but Houston is not one to look a gifted win in the beak. Last season, Ryans helmed the team that got its first win at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA. Now, he steered the team to its 1st victory in Charm City.
1: Number of punts by the Texans in this game: Houston had 10 offensive drives in this game. Eight resulted in points. One was the drive that closed out the game. The other, in Davis Mills’ 1st drive as the QB, the Texans actually found themselves in a punting situation. Hence, Tommy Townsend, normally a very busy man with his leg, actually got to do his primary job for once. Otherwise, he mainly earned his game check holding FG/XP attempts for Fairbairn (8 times). He made the most of it, booting a 59-yard bomb.
GAME BALLS
PK Ka’imi Fairbairn: 14 total points (5 XPs, 3 FGs). No misses on his scoring place kicks, to include two 50+ yarders, with his 57-yard-no-doubter in the 2nd quarter most impressive. Yet, while he did much to help fantasy teams, his kickoffs were beyond excellent. He was on point on all of his kicks, distributing his kickoffs in targeted locations akin to the top-tier EPL goalkeepers distributing the balls via goal kicks. Actually, most EPL goalies don’t distribute their long kicks with a soccer/football like Fairbairn did with a NFL-style ball.
S/NB Jalen Pitre: 2 INTs and a massive trucking of Derrick [KITTEN] Henry? Yeah, Game Ball.
QB CJ Stroud: 23-27 for 244 yards and 4 TDs. Maybe it was only the Titans and a severely weakened Baltimore team, but since the 4th quarter of the Titans game, Stroud has started looking like the rookie Stroud. If he is getting his groove back, watch out.
OC Nick Caley: Well, if we are going to ding him when things go wrong, gotta give the man his props when things go right. Ok, The Most Interesting Defensive Coordinator in the World Matt Burke also is worthy of praise, but when your 1st eight offensive drives result in points, you get 4 TDs in the passing game, 161 yards in the run game, and you get quality garbage time minutes for the backups…prime Game Ball awardee.
SHOULD BE FORCED TO DRINK A GLASS OF WATER FROM THE INNER HARBOR GARNISHED WITH FETID OLD BAY AND CRAB “MUSTARD”:
CB Derek Stingley Jr. He is a great corner, but even the great ones have bad plays. His getting brunt to a fine crisp on the Zay Flowers long pass that set up the Ravens’ sole TD of the day was not a good look, especially as he fell down giving Flowers all day to make that catch. Nit-picking, but you have call it when you see it.
Line Calls Allowing Unblocked Edge Rushers: M&T Stadium wasn’t particularly loud or foreboding for once, but on at least three Houston offensive plays, the Texans somehow allowed an edge rusher to come unblocked on CJ Stroud. It didn’t result in too much damage this time, but that can’t happen again. This will be one area of emphasis, or should be, for the bye week for the team.
Penn State Head Coach James Franklin: You know things are bad for you when you get called out by an NFL blog. That is how miserable that performance was to watch, especially from a supposed “contender”. No PSU, you may not talk with DeMeco Ryans about a job opening. No, I am not bitter or downhearted about that performance against UCLA what-so-ever. Also in consideration of this (dis)honor: Steve Sarkisian and Texas. Against Florida? Really?
The Texans now gear up for the dreaded opponent known as “the bye”. A very early bye, and perhaps not the world’s best timed one, given the momentum the team is on, but it is what it is. The break is going to be a bit extended, as Houston’s next game comes October 20th in Seattle for a Monday Night showdown on ESPN.
