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Stroud and Texans proud of their season despite loss to Ravens
Jan 22, 2024, 11:14 am
There's always next year. Composite Getty Image.
The Houston Texans ended their season the same way they started it: with a loss in Baltimore.
When the sting of Saturday’s 34-10 playoff defeat wears off, the Texans will almost certainly appreciate how well they played between those setbacks against the Ravens.
After going 3-13-1 a year ago, the Texans rode a terrific season by rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud to go 10-7 and win the AFC South. Houston then manhandled Cleveland in the wild-card round before being ousted by the top-seeded Ravens.
Although the Texans fell short of reaching the AFC championship game for the first time, they took solace in being one of the last eight teams standing.
“Proud of our guys for their effort throughout this entire season, for getting to this moment,” rookie coach DeMeco Ryans said. “It’s not a moral victory, just being here. It’s not what we set out to do. But we accomplished a lot this year. I am looking forward to the future.”
The 22-year-old Stroud threw for a whopping 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns compared to only five interceptions, a league-best touchdown-interception ratio.
The second overall pick in last year's draft continued his success in his first postseason game, passing for 274 yards and three scores in a 45-17 blowout of the Browns.
But Stroud couldn't figure out how to be effective against Baltimore's swarming, aggressive and hard-hitting defense. In his NFL debut on Sept. 10, he went 28 for 44 for 242 yards and no touchdowns in a 25-9 loss. On Saturday, the former Ohio State star went 19 for 33 for a meager 175 yards.
“That’s a great Ravens team there. They deserved to win,” Stroud said. “It’s tough getting embarrassed like that, but definitely our future is bright.”
Perhaps, but the Houston offense will have to play better than it did Saturday to take the next step. They managed only 10 first downs, garnered just 38 yards on the ground and went scoreless in the second half.
The unit was further bogged down by several penalties for false starts, holding and delay of game. All told, the Texans were flagged 11 times for 70 yards.
“There were too many penalties, too many missed assignments,” Stroud said.
But really, the Texans' struggle to score could be attributed mainly to a Baltimore defense that allowed the fewest points in the league. The Ravens never sacked Stroud or forced a turnover, but they still forced the Texans to punt five times and turn it over on downs once.
“They’re a really good unit. They’ve been No. 1 throughout the season for a reason,” Ryans said. “They're tough to handle up front. We could never quite get going offensively.”
Houston's lone TD came on a 67-yard punt return by Steven Sims that helped the Texans reach halftime tied at 10. But the second half belonged to the Ravens and veteran quarterback Lamar Jackson, who ran for a score in the third quarter and tossed a 15-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Likely make it 24-10 with 14:23 remaining.
That all but signified the end for the youthful Texans, who had rookies accumulate 2,536 snaps on offense this season — second most in the NFL behind the Carolina Panthers.
Despite all that inexperience, Houston proved it had the talent to make a strong postseason run.
“We had the team to do it,” Stroud said. “But we came up short.”
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How these 3 critical factors could swing battle between Texans and Jets
Oct 30, 2024, 3:06 pm
The Jets host the Texans and their scary defense on Halloween night! Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
Houston (6-2) at New York Jets (2-6)
Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, Amazon Prime
BetMGM NFL odds: Jets by 2.
Against the spread: Texans 3-4-1; Jets 2-6.
Series record: Jets lead 7-3.
Last meeting: Jets beat Texans 30-6 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Dec. 10, 2023.
Last week: Texans beat Colts 23-20; Jets lost to Patriots 25-22.
Texans offense: overall (9t), rush (18), pass (8), scoring (14).
Texans defense: overall (2), rush (13), pass (3), scoring (15t).
Jets offense: overall (24), rush (30), pass (13), scoring (25).
Jets defense: overall (4), rush (17), pass (2), scoring (11t).
Turnover differential: Texans plus-4; Jets minus-3.
Texans player to watch
RB Joe Mixon. He has carried Houston's offense in the three games since he returned from an injury and could be even more important this week after wide receiver Stefon Diggs tore the ACL in his right knee last Sunday and is out for the season. Mixon ranks third in the NFL by averaging 100.6 yards rushing a game and has had at least 100 yards rushing and a TD run in three straight games.
Jets player to watch
Edge rusher Haason Reddick. After ending his lengthy contract holdout early last week, Reddick made his Jets debut and played 26 snaps on defense with two quarterback pressures while working mostly on third downs. His snaps might increase a bit Thursday and he could help the Jets get after C.J. Stroud, who has been sacked 22 times this season — tied for third most in the NFL.
Key matchup
Jets offensive line vs. Texans' pass rush. New York has had issues this season with injuries, consistency and protecting Aaron Rodgers. The Jets will face a tough test Thursday night against the Texans, whose 27 sacks are third in the NFL. DE Will Anderson Jr. is tied for third in the league with a career-high 7 1/2 sacks, including at least one in his past three games. DE Danielle Hunter has 5 1/2 sacks and DT Tim Settle has four, powering a formidable defensive front for Houston. Hunter leads the league with 51 quarterback pressures and Anderson is fourth with 39, the only teammates in the top 15, according to Next Gen Stats.
Key injuries
Diggs' injury leaves Houston without its top two receivers. Nico Collins, who leads the Texans with 567 yards receiving, is out for at least one more game after being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. ... S Calen Bullock was limited in practice Monday and Tuesday after injuring his shoulder Sunday. … LBs Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) and Henry To’oTo’o (concussion) both missed the Colts game, but could return this week. … S Jimmie Ward could miss a fifth straight game with a groin injury. … LG Jarrett Patterson is in the concussion protocol and is likely out. … RB Dameon Pierce missed practice this week with a groin injury. ... Jets LB C.J. Mosley suffered a stinger in his neck during pregame warmups at New England and was meeting with neck and spine specialists this week. ... RG Alijah Vera-Tucker (ankle), WR Allen Lazard (chest), DL Leki Fotu (knee) and safeties Tony Adams (hamstring) and Ashtyn Davis (concussion) all missed the game vs. the Patriots and their availability for this week was uncertain. ... K Greg Zuerlein was placed on IR. Riley Patterson and Spencer Shrader were signed to the practice squad, and one will be promoted for the game.
Series notes
The Jets have won the past two meetings. ... New York won the first five meetings, including the first game between the franchises in 2003, when LaMont Jordan's late 8-yard touchdown run helped lift the Jets to a 19-14 victory. ... Zach Wilson threw two touchdown passes in the most recent meeting, a 30-6 rout by New York during which Stroud left with a concussion.
Stats and stuff
The AFC South-leading Texans have won four of their past five. ... Stroud is 2-0 with three touchdowns and zero interceptions in two career starts in prime time. He had 285 yards passing last week for his ninth career game with at least that many yards passing, which is tied for second most in the NFL since 2023. ... WR Tank Dell had a touchdown reception last week and has a TD catch in two of his past three games. ... TE Dalton Schultz had a season-high 52 yards receiving against the Colts. He has two TD receptions in each of his past two Thursday night games. ... Hunter has 10½ sacks in eight career Thursday night games. … LB Neville Hewitt, who spent the 2018-21 seasons with the Jets, forced a fumble last week. … Rookie CB Kamari Lassiter had a career-high three passes defended last week. … S Jalen Pitre had his first interception of the season last week. ... S Eric Murray had seven tackles and a season-high three passes defended last week. ... New York is trying to snap a five-game skid. ... Jeff Ulbrich is 0-3 as the Jets’ interim head coach since replacing the fired Robert Saleh on Oct. 8. Ulbrich, also the team's defensive coordinator, said earlier this week he'll continue to call plays on defense. … Rodgers snapped a streak of three consecutive games with an interception. He has seven in eight games, six shy of his single-season career high set in 2008 in his first year as Green Bay’s starting quarterback. ... Rodgers hasn't passed for 300 yards since throwing for 341 against Chicago on Dec. 12, 2021 — a span of 30 regular-season games and 31 overall, including one playoff game. ... WR Garrett Wilson leads the NFL with 84 targets, 11 more than the Giants’ Malik Nabers. Wilson’s 51 receptions are second in the league behind Las Vegas’ Brock Bowers, who has 52. ... WR Davante Adams had four catches for 54 yards, giving him seven receptions for 84 yards in two games since being acquired from the Raiders. ... Second-year WR Xavier Gipson caught his first career TD pass last Sunday. ... TE Tyler Conklin has a TD catch in consecutive games after not having one since catching two TD passes in Week 8 of the 2022 season against New England. ... RB Breece Hall has 316 yards receiving, the most among NFL running backs. ... Edge rusher Will McDonald has eight sacks, second in the NFL to the Giants’ Dexter Lawrence (nine). … The Jets have only six takeaways, ranking among the fewest in the league. Backup CB Brandin Echols has New York's only two interceptions.
Fantasy tip
Houston wide receiver John Metchie is coming off a career-best three-catch game and could see more targets — and perhaps his first NFL touchdown — with both Diggs and Collins out. Might be worth a stash as a potential WR3.
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