HOUSTON — The Baltimore Ravens are now one win away from repeating as AFC North champions.
Behind an unrelenting rushing attack and a dominating defense, the Ravens are in control of their division fate after routing the Houston Texans 31-2 on Christmas Day. It was an embarrassing showing for the Texans, who failed to score a touchdown behind a sluggish offensive performance.
With one week left in the regular season, Baltimore (11-5) holds a one-game lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6), who lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 29-10 earlier Wednesday.
The Ravens end the season at home against the last-place Cleveland Browns next week. Baltimore controlled the game with 251 yards rushing, using the combination of the powerful running of Derrick Henry (147 yards) and the speed of quarterback Lamar Jackson (87 yards).
It was a record-setting day for Jackson, who surpassed Michael Vick as the NFL’s all-time leading rushing quarterback.
The Ravens’ defense hammered Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud, producing five sacks and one interception. Baltimore would have recorded its first shutout since October 2018 if not for Henry’s safety in the second quarter.
Here are the keys from the game:
Promising trend: The Ravens scored a touchdown on their opening drive for the first time in 12 weeks. Capping the 75-yard drive, Henry scored on a 2-yard run for his 16th touchdown, which set a Ravens’ single-season record. It also ended a four-game touchdown drought for Henry, the third longest of his career.
Pivotal play: The Ravens stopping Texans running back Joe Mixon short of the end zone on fourth down in the second quarter. With Baltimore up 10-2, Baltimore safety Ar’Darius Washington delivered a hit on Mixon to knock him down at the Ravens’ 1-yard line and stop Houston’s momentum. This was the Ravens’ fourth straight stop on a fourth-and-goal this season. Baltimore then drove 99 yards for a touchdown, which ended with Jackson’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely. Jackson scrambled around to buy 8.4 seconds before throwing, which ranked as his second-longest time to throw on a touchdown this season.
Eye-popping stat: Jackson reached a maximum speed of 21.25 mph on a 48-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. According to Next Gen Stats, that’s the highest top speed of Jackson’s seven-year career. It is the second-fastest max speed by a quarterback this season, ranking only behind Arizona’s Kyler Murray (21.27 mph). — Jamison Hensley
Next game: vs. Browns (Jan. 5, TBD)
In a test to prove whether they could contend with the best in the AFC, the Texans came out flat against the Ravens and didn’t do anything well. They allowed Henry to rush for 147 yards and a touchdown. They also gave up a 48-yard rushing touchdown and two passing touchdowns to Jackson, who had a passer rating of 143. Houston’s rushing attack was nonexistent, totaling 58 yards while Stroud had a subpar performance totaling 185 passing yards with an interception. He took five sacks and it was the first time in Stroud’s career he had zero scoring drives.
The Texans are now 1-5 against winning teams this season as they limp into the playoffs. Their only victory against a winning team came against the Buffalo Bills in Week 5. On the bright side, the Texans will still go to the playoffs having clinched the AFC South.
Describe the game in two words: No fight. The Texans were physically dominated from the get-go, allowing the Ravens to rush for 115 yards in the opening quarter, the most the Texans have given up in a first quarter this season. Houston never mustered any energy the rest of the game.
QB breakdown: This was perhaps the most disappointing performance of Stroud’s NFL career. The offense is missing star wideouts Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell, but Stroud was off target on eight throws, his second most this season. He also wasn’t able to get any points on the board for the offense for the first time in his young career.
Biggest hole in the game plan: Missing two of his best receivers, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik gave Mixon only nine carries while Stroud had 36 dropbacks. In the first half, when the Texans were down 10-0 and the game was still within reach, Slowik had a 13-play stretch in which he called 12 pass plays.
Prediction for next week: Texans starters play only a quarter against the Tennessee Titans. Houston is locked into the No. 4 seed, so there’s little incentive for the Texans to play starters for long in Week 18. Risking important players being hurt isn’t worth it, especially when safety Jimmie Ward, nickel Jalen Pitre, Diggs and Dell are already out for the season. — DJ Bien-Aime
Next game: at Titans (Jan. 5, TBD)
