A new era of Texans football officially began Sunday afternoon in Baltimore and ended the same way the old one did. With a loss. 25-9.
The comparisons may not stop there, but there were some encouraging signs of growth along the way.
Coaching
DeMeco Ryans has plenty of things to be proud of in his NFL head coaching debut, but he’s got plenty to clean up as well.
He decided to go for it on 4th-and-1 at their own 47-yard line after the Texans rookie punter was run into on the previous 4th-and-6. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik’s play took too long to develop as the Ravens' pass rush got to Stroud quickly, sacking him for an 11-yard loss and forcing a turnover-on-downs.
I liked the idea of going for it in this instance because the defense had forced a three-and-out to start the game, and it was an opportunity to try and get Stroud some confidence early, generate momentum and show faith in his offense.
The decision to go for it on another 4th-and-1 with 7:40 remaining in the 4th quarter and the Texans down just 15-6 was the wrong decision 10 times out of 10. Too much time had elapsed following the 15-yard completion to Nico Collins. Once the referees stifled the momentum, the punt team should’ve been sent out. Period.
Ryans will want to look at the pulse he thinks he had on the game and reevaluate, along with his and offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik’s sense of urgency, or lack thereof at times.
Following a Ravens touchdown, which gave them a 22-6 advantage with 5:21 left in the third quarter, the Texans didn’t have a play ready to start their drive and Ryans was gifted a timeout by the referees as he didn’t appear to call it until the play clock had hit zero.
There’s no excuse for not having a play ready to start a drive after a touchdown, extra point, and kick return. None.
DeMeco has to be dialed in more as well to make sure the Texans don’t take an embarrassing delay of game in that scenario. They didn’t, but it was close.
As far as Ryans’ defense went, he was aggressive and showed off his elite level of play calling that we saw from his time in San Francisco.
I like the way he used defensive ends Will Anderson and Jonathan Greenard as well as the aggressive nature in which he’d have safety Jalen Pitre blitz the edge. All were major factors in forcing Ravens QB Lamar Jackson to scramble from the pocket and get rid of the ball when he didn’t want to.
Slowik’s offense left much to be desired. It didn’t feature one of their best playmakers in receiver Tank Dell. He was targeted just four times in the game.
Offensive play calling has to be one of the most improved areas before the Texans home opener against the Indianapolis Colts next Sunday.
It was also inexcusable to insert Michael Deiter in at right tackle once George Fant went down with an injury. Albeit for one play, it was a costly one as Ravens DE David Ojabo sacked and forced Stroud to fumble on the play.
Not having Josh Jones slide over to his natural position and letting Deiter play his in that instance was one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen.
Quarterback
CJ Stroud showed good poise throughout the game, not forcing the issue and trying to do too much. Despite the Ravens consistently pressuring the rookie, Stroud was able to find a rhythm and sustained a 15-play 67-yard drive that took 8:54 off of the game clock.
While it resulted in just three points, Stroud made some of the throws that confirmed to many his propensity to be an accurate passer at the NFL level, completing six of his seven attempts on the drive.
Stroud: 28/44, 224 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 5 sacks, 1 lost fumble
It certainly wasn’t one of the best debuts for a rookie quarterback, but it was far from one of the worst.
Offense
The offensive line is definitely still an issue. We knew it would be rough, especially on the road in that environment in Baltimore.
Not near enough of Tank Dell was disappointing. That’s got to be corrected, along with getting tight end Dalton Schultz involved more in the offense.
Without having rewatched the game, it may very well have been part of the game plan to keep Schultz into chip and block to help the offensive line with protection. Stroud only targeted Schultz four times and that must improve.
The run game never got going, and I thought it was abandoned when the game was somewhat still in reach.
Overall, I didn’t see the creativity in the offense nor the preparedness I expected to see from Slowik.
They’ve got a lot of work to do, but while the offense is often criticized for what they don’t have in terms of playmakers, it feels like some of their issues could be corrected by utilizing the personnel that they actually do have.
Defense
This was by far the most encouraging group.
Led by Jonathan Greenard, who finished the game with five tackles, including two for loss and a sack. Greenard, the Texans fourth-year pro, combined with rookie Will Anderson, who recorded his first NFL sack, pressured Lamar Jackson eight times.
Anderson was fantastic all day I thought. He has some things to clean up in terms of angle of pursuit and getting off blocks better and gap integrity, but it was a very nice debut for the rookie.
A swarming defense at times, held the Ravens to 110 yards rushing on 32 carries, an average of just 3.4 yards per carry.
That is a stark improvement from what this defense has looked like the previous three seasons.
Overall, the Texans hit Jackson seven times, including four sacks and recorded five tackles for loss.
Steven Nelson recorded his first interception of the season and MJ Stewart recovered a fumble that was forced out by Tavierre Thomas.
It was nice to see a linebacker lead the team in tackles as opposed to a safety. Denzel Perryman looks like the thumper the Texans have been needing at that position for a long while.