Ravens vs. Texans: Full Game Grades for Baltimore
The Baltimore Ravens had a golden opportunity to boost their playoff positioning with a win over the Houston Texans. Instead, they came out and laid an egg, and it may ultimately cost them a spot in the postseason.
Houston took a quick lead in the game after getting into the red zone on its opening possession. Baltimore's defense would stiffen, though, leading the Texans to settle for a field goal and 3-0 lead.
After the offense went three and out, Houston went right back down the field and got another field goal to take a 6-0 lead.
The Texans were moving the ball fairly easily behind All-Pro running back Arian Foster, who finished the game with 96 rushing yards and 23 receiving yards. The Ravens defense did a great job of bending but not breaking, holding the Texans to six field goals on seven red-zone attempts.
The only touchdown Houston got came after Joe Flacco had a second-quarter meltdown that saw him throw a pair of interceptions that led to seven Texans points and Baltimore trailing 16-0 at halftime.
The second half wasn't much better, as the Texans tacked on three more field goals, while Flacco threw another pick that led to a Texans field goal.
Flacco did manage to get Baltimore into the end zone twice, the first of which being an eight-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith to cut the deficit to 16-7.
However, Flacco threw the third pick on the ensuing drive, leading to a Texans field goal that gave them a 19-7 lead.
Baltimore didn't reach the end zone again until there were just five minutes, 56 seconds left in the game, as Flacco hit Smith for a 20-yard score to cut the lead to 13-25, which would be the final score.
Here are my grades for each Ravens unit from this game.
Quarterback
1 of 9
The Ravens defense did a great job of holding the Texans to six field goals on seven red-zone attempts.
Too bad the offense was a no-show for much of the game, highlighted by Joe Flacco's worst performance of the season.
The only touchdown Houston got came after Flacco had a second-quarter meltdown that saw him throw a pair of interceptions that led to the Texans' only touchdown.
The second half wasn't much better, as Flacco threw another pick that led to a Texans field goal that gave them a 19-7 lead.
Flacco did manage to throw two touchdowns to Torrey Smith, but one of them came in garbage time as Baltimore had virtually no hope of coming back.
Flacco was a big reason why Baltimore lost this game, as he threw a season-high three interceptions after entering the game with just nine all year.
This was easily his worst game of the year, and it came at the worst possible time. However, not all of this is on Flacco, as the offensive line was horrendous, and the receivers and running backs weren't making plays either.
Grade: D
Running Back
2 of 9
While much of the blame for this loss can be placed on the quarterback, the rest of the offense didn't do much to help him.
The running backs were no better, as Baltimore backs combined for just 28 yards on 15 carries, marking their worst performance of the year.
As mentioned in the previous slide, the offensive line was horrible, and that made it nearly impossible for the rest of the offense to function.
Starting running back Justin Forsett finished with a season-low 19 rushing yards. He also grabbed four passes for 13 yards.
It didn't help matters that he injured his ankle during the game, but he was able to keep playing after the injury. This was simply a performance to forget for the backs.
Grade: D+
Wide Receiver and Tight End
3 of 9
When the offensive line isn't playing well, it affects the quarterback's ability to find and hit open receivers. That was the case Sunday, as Joe Flacco was under fire for the entire game, making it hard for him to ever find an open receiver and throw an accurate pass to him.
Torrey Smith was the only pass-catcher to stand out as he caught five passes for 59 yards and two scores, though one of them came in garbage time.
Steve Smith had four catches for 49 yards but also had several critical drops that killed drives. No other pass-catcher caught more than two passes, as no one was able to stand out in this game.
Grade: C-
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Offensive Line
4 of 9
This was a game to forget for the Ravens offensive line. It had easily its worst performance of the year, and it crippled the entire offense for the duration of this contest.
The line surrendered a season-high 10 QB hits to go with two sacks. All-Pro defensive end J.J. watt had four of them to go with a sack and three tackles for loss.
It didn't matter who was blocking Watt, as he was constantly in the Ravens backfield disrupting the offense. The Texans defense also had nine pass deflections, many of which came at or behind the line of scrimmage after the pocket collapsed.
Making matters worse was both starting tackles left this game with injuries. Eugene Monroe left with an undisclosed injury, while Ricky Wagner left with a foot injury.
Still, the line was playing poorly even when those guys were in. The line having its worst game of the year is why Baltimore lost this game.
Grade: D-
Defensive Line
5 of 9
The key to Baltimore's defense shutting down the Texans offense was how well the front seven contained All-Pro running back Arian Foster.
Although Foster finished the game with 96 rushing yards, he did so on 25 carries—a 3.8 yards-per-carry average. The Ravens defense did a great job of bending but not breaking, holding the Texans to six field goals on seven red-zone attempts.
Many of those red-zone attempts came because Baltimore's offense was either turning the ball over or going three and out and giving the Texans a short field to work with.
The line did a good job of filling its gaps and not allowing big plays, and it was one of the bright spots in this game.
Grade: B
Linebacker
6 of 9
No matter how bad the rest of the Ravens units may look at times, the linebackers always seem to come up big and make a positive impact on the game.
However, while they played good today, they didn't make the kind of game-changing plays they tend to make each game.
No linebacker had a sack or forced a turnover, and they combined for just five tackles for loss and six QB hits.
Outside linebackers Terrell Suggs and Pernell McPhee combined for 13 tackles and three tackles for loss. Elvis Dumervil didn't record a sack for just the second time in his past seven games.
Inside linebackers Daryl Smith and C.J. Mosley combined for 17 tackles but no tackles for loss. Simply put, the backers played well but could have done more to make a bigger impact.
Grade: B+
Secondary
7 of 9
With the front seven playing well, the Ravens secondary had one of its better games against Houston. It helped contain the Texans' dynamic duo of DeAndre Hopkins and Andre Johnson, who made just 11 catches for 103 yards and no scores.
Houston quarterback Case Keenum completed just 20 of 42 passes for 182 yards. Safety Darian Stewart intercepted Keenum in the first half, but Baltimore's offense could do nothing with it.
Safety Will Hill had a nice game with eight tackles and one tackle for loss. Cornerback Rashaan Melvin also chipped in eight tackles.
In all, the secondary played one of its best games of the year, but it wasn't enough to overcome a horrific offensive game by Baltimore.
Grade: B
Special Teams
8 of 9
The Ravens special teams didn't get many opportunities to impact this game, but they did just that when called upon.
Punter Sam Koch punted the ball very well and pinned the Texans deep in their own territory several times. He finished with a 50.4 yards-per-punt average on eight attempts to go with one pinned inside the 20-yard line.
Kicker Justin Tucker didn't attempt a field goal and recorded just one extra point. Return man Jacoby Jones returned one punt for 45 yards to go with a 40-yard kickoff return.
Grade: B+
Cumulative Grade
9 of 9
Positional Unit | Overall Grade |
QB | D |
RB | D+ |
WR/TE | C- |
OL | D- |
DL | B |
LB | B+ |
Secondary | B |
ST | B+ |
Cumulative Grade | C- |
This was arguably the worst game Baltimore has played this year, at least from an offensive standpoint. It puts the Ravens at 9-6 and out of the playoffs if they began today.
Why the offense performed so badly in such a big game will probably remain a mystery. However, a loss is a loss, and Baltimore now has its back against the wall in terms of making the playoffs.
The Ravens will have to win their home finale versus the Cleveland Browns next week and hope there are losses by the teams ahead of the Ravens in the playoff standings.
It would be unfortunate to see Baltimore's season not continue in the postseason because of this game, but it could easily play out that way.
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