There was no resemblance to the Texans who ransacked the Browns 45-14 in the wild card round to the team that played at M&T Bank Stadium against the best team in the NFL.
There’s a reason the Texans were 9.5-point underdogs. They just weren’t as good as the Ravens. They played well in the first half and went to the locker room with a 10-10 score.
Then the Ravens pounded them in the second half with a powerful performance to earn the 24-point victory.
Grade: F
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QUARTERBACK
C.J. Stroud had no running game to offset some of the attention the Ravens’ outstanding defense was directing at him. He was under constant pressure.
Even though he wasn’t sacked, he had to bail out of the pocket so many times it was obvious he wasn’t comfortable against Baltimore’s smothering defense.
Too many times he was forced to throw it away. He finished with 19-of-33 (57.6 percent) for 175 yards and no touchdowns or interceptions and a rating of 72.2, his second-worst of the season.
Grade: C-minus
RUNNING BACKS
Devin Singletary rushed for 22 yards on nine carries. He got 16 yards on one carry. He had no room to run. He was hit in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage. He was productive in the passing game with five catches for 48 yards.
Grade: C
WIDE RECEIVERS
Nico Collins was targeted 10 times and caught five passes for 68 yards. C.J. Stroud had no other weapon at wide receiver.
Robert Woods had one catch for 6 yards and Xavier Hutchinson two receptions for minus-3 yards. Collins was a one-man show, which made it easier for the Ravens to focus on him.
Grade: D-plus
TIGHT ENDS
Dalton Schultz had five catches for 43 yards, an 8.6-yard average. Brevin Jordan didn’t have a reception.
Grade: C-minus
OFFENSIVE LINE
The Ravens entered the game 14th in run defense, allowing 109.4 yards a game. The Ravens’ defensive line and linebackers manhandled the Texans’ offensive linemen in embarrassing fashion.
The Texans finished with 38 yards rushing on 14 carries. That’s a 2.7-yard average. Devin Singletary got 16 of those 38 yards on one carry, meaning the running game produced a 1.6 average on the other 13 carries.
Even though C.J. Stroud wasn’t sacked, he was running for his life on most of his drops. The linemen also had four false start penalties.
Grade: F-minus
DEFENSIVE LINE
Kurt Hinish had the only sack. The linemen had four tackles for loss. Derek Barnett and Jonathan Greenard were in on five tackles apiece.
Will Anderson Jr. had one tackle in the game.
When a team rushes for 229 yards, including 100 by Lamar Jackson, it starts up front with a line that got worn down in the second half.
Grade: D
LINEBACKERS
Blake Cashman had one sack, two tackles for loss and four solo tackles. Christian Harris was in on seven tackles, including six unassisted. Denzel Perryman had five tackles. The linebackers got steamrolled by the running game, and somebody did a terrible job of patrolling the middle of the field to keep Lamar Jackson from running up the middle.
Grade: D
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Desmond King II had a sack, five unassisted tackles, including two tackles for loss. Derek Stingley Jr. allowed a touchdown pass.
Even though Lamar Jackson threw for only 152 yards, he had two touchdown passes. The secondary had to make too many tackles.
Grade: B-minus
SPECIAL TEAMS
Steven Sims’ 67-yard punt return in the first half was the only touchdown the Texans scored.
Ka’imi Fairbairn provided the other points with a 50-yard field goal but misfired from 47 yards in the first half when the Texans could have taken a 13-10 lead. The kickoff coverage allowed Devin Duvernay to return the second-half kickoff 37 yards to set up a Ravens’ touchdown drive.
The kickoff coverage allowed Devin Duvernay to return the second-half kickoff 37 yards to set up a Ravens’ touchdown drive.
Grade: B
COACHING
With a 10-10 score at halftime, the Texans put on an impressive performance on defense and special teams. But then everything came apart in the second half when they got crushed by a superior team.
The way the defense allowed Lamar Jackson to run free up the middle, it’s like they had no game plan for it, but they did. They worked on it all week. Obviously, some players went brain dead. No matter how you look at this game, it was a marvelous season that bodes well for next season.
Grade: D
John McClain can be heard Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on SportsRadio 610 and Monday, Thursday and Sunday on Texans Radio, also on SportsRadio 610. He writes five columns a week and does three Houtopia Football Podcasts for SportsRadio610.com.