Silent night, “embarrassing” night by Texans, blown out by Ravens on Christmas, booed by fans at NRG Stadium

HOUSTON – Lamar Jackson stopped, stutter-stepped and slipped away from the pursuit of Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter.

As Hunter gave chase, matching each step for the Ravens’ multidimensional quarterback and NFL MVP frontrunner candidate bought himself precious time in a remarkable play as he remained one step ahead of one of the most athletic pass rushers in the game. That set the table for a Jackson touchdown pass to tight end Isaiah Likely in the second quarter.

The performance was a microcosm for how lopsided the gap is between the Ravens and the AFC South division champions as the Texans absorbed an embarrassingly ugly 31-2 defeat on Christmas at NRG Stadium as they were booed repeatedly by their own fans in an internationally broadcast game on Netflix.

“It’s embarrassing,” said Texans Pro Bowl defensive end Will Anderson Jr., a team captain and one of the few players who had a solid performance. “That’s not playoff football. And I think everyone in this locker room knows that from top to bottom. We have to do a better job.

“The coaches can do their part, but I feel like as players we have to do our part. The leaders and captains, we have to step up and command guys and hold guys accountable and make sure everyone is doing their job.”

One year after the Texans’ season ended unceremoniously in an AFC divisional round loss to the Ravens, there is still a huge disparity between these two AFC teams hoping to compete with the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

The Ravens at least have a puncher’s chance. The Texans look like the opposite of a contender right now, a banged-up football team regressing in virtually every facet of the game.

“That’s nothing that we represent, nothing that we talked about all year, all season, all week,” veteran wide receiver Robert Woods said. “And pretty much it’s just an embarrassment to show up like that, and that’s not the Texans’ way and mentality of playing football and showing up in the first place.”

Down and out best characterizes the state of the 9-7 Texans after consecutive losses to the Chiefs and Ravens.

They’re locked into the fourth seed of the playoffs as a division champion and will host an AFC wild-card playoff game. Unless they start playing better immediately, an early exit from the postseason looks to be in the offing.

This was arguably the worst loss since Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, a former Pro Bowl linebacker and NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, took over as coach last year.

“I think you come back fired up and showing that’s not who we are,” Ryans said. “At the end of the day that’s not who we are. That’s not what we represent, what we put out there on the field today. That’s not Texans football. We didn’t play our best ball, and all of that starts with me. A lack of execution. I’ll take the next couple of days to look at everything, including myself.”

It was on this night, though.

This was an absolute blowout. If it wasn’t Jackson making normally elite defenders look silly while breaking the NFL record for rushing yards by a quarterback previously held by Michael Vick, the Texans were being punished by powerhouse running back Derrick Henry.

Henry rushed for 147 yards and one touchdown on 27 carries, pounding a traditionally stout defense that allowed 251 rushing yards on 43 carries and two touchdown runs for a 5.8 average per run.

Another virtuoso performance by Jackson ensued as he earned an opening for tight end Mark Andrew on a 67-yard reception.

Henry repeatedly bruised and bashed through the Texans’ defense while Jackson danced away from defenders in the open field.

“They’re great football players,” Hunter said. “Lamar is a dual threat. Derrick Henry, he’s the best of the best for his position. So I feel like the biggest thing we could do was just game plan better.”

The Ravens piled up 432 yards of total offense as the Texans allowed the third-most points they’ve surrendered all season and their second-highest total at NRG Stadium.

Hunter acknowledged “there wasn’t enough energy” from the AFC South champs. He repeatedly said game prep is an issue, which would involve the coaching staff and players.

“A little bit of game plan better is another thing we can do,” Hunter said. “If we do play against them, the best thing we can do is game plan better.”

“This game comes down to guys making plays and they had two exceptional playmakers on their side in Lamar and Derrick Henry,” Ryans said. “They made plays and that was the game.”

If it wasn’t the 6-foot-3, 248-pound Henry plowing over tacklers, there was Jackson dashing away and accelerating into high gear on an untouched 48-yard touchdown run.

Before he was rested late in the game and replaced by backup Josh Johnson, who argued with Texans running back Joe Mixon before kickoff before cooler heads prevailed, Jackson completed 10 of 15 passes for 168 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions for a 143.9 passer rating. He was only sacked once.

He also rushed for 87 yards on just four carries, averaging 21.8 yards per run.

It was obvious that the toll of the Texans playing without hard hitters Jimmie Ward and Jalen Pitre, out for the season with foot and pectoral injuries, respectively, and suspended linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair as he served his final three-game punishment for his controversial hit on Trevor Lawrence, made a difference in the competitiveness of the defense.

There was only one really good moment for the Texans’ defense.

That was when rookie cornerback Kamari Lassiter tackled Henry in the end zone for a safety for the Texans’ only points of the game for the home team.

Other than that, the Texans struggled mightily on both sides of the football.

That cut the lead to 10-2. Following a 45-yard kickoff return from running back Dameon Pierce, the Texans got down to the Ravens’ 1-yard line. However, a fourth down call to go for it backfired when Mixon was tackled shy of the goal line off a swing pass by Ar’darius Washington and Tre’Davious White.

After that play, the Ravens responded with a six-play, 99-yard drive capped by Jackson’s nine-yard touchdown pass to Likely with cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. trailing him. That boosted the Ravens’ lead to 17-2 at halftime.

C.J. Stroud completed 17 of 31 passes for 185 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, and was sacked five times, hit 10 times overall by the Ravens.

After the game, Stroud said he’s banged-up, but emphasized that’s no excuse.

Stroud missed several open targets, including wide receiver Nico Collins and tight end Dalton Schultz with plenty of open artificial turf in front of them.

“Terrible on my behalf,” Stroud said. “Probably one of my worst games of my whole career. Just came out flat. Didn’t have any energy. Didn’t lead the offense the way I should have. Always got to look at myself in the mirror and be honest with myself and not good enough today. You know, it is what it is. Can’t hang my head down, but just got to keep going.”

“I just kept missing. Just wasn’t making throws. At the same time, I got to find a way to stand in there stronger and make those throws. There was some miscommunication with me and some of the receivers, but, ultimately, up to me to make the throw when guys are open.”

Mixon rushed for 26 yards on nine carries. And Collins was held to three catches for 59 yards on six targets.

Wide receiver John Metchie, playing more extensively with Tank Dell out for the season after suffering a devastating knee injury, caught five passes for 48 yards.

Nothing worked really well for the Texans, who were reminded there’s a difference between the elite teams of the NFL and where they currently stand as the kings of a weak AFC South division.

The Texans went 0 for 2 in the red zone.

They converted just 4 of 15 third downs.

And they heard it from the Texans’ fans with their dissatisfaction loudly expressed.

“People are entitled to their opinions, they care about the game,” Stroud said. “Their emotions matter, so I understand. It’s not my first time and probably won’t be my last. It’s not something to internalize and point the finger at yourself. But it is something that you can use it to motivate you to like not want those moments anymore. So I got plenty of football left in my career.

“Hopefully, God willing. I know this is going to be a story I’ll tell one day that helped me in the long run. It’s part of life, man. You hit a lot of valleys and have a lot of mountaintops. There’s not sunny days if there is not days with rain. It’s a rainy day but at the end of the day the sun will rise up tomorrow.”

And they got beat to the punch consistently at the line of scrimmage, struggling to match the Ravens’ superior physicality in the trenches and didn’t adjust to basic line stunts.

“We’ve got to play better, we got to be better at attention to detail and it sucks that we have to keep talking each week about the same thing about execution and attention to detail,” Anderson said. “It’s not a lack of effort. It’s not a lack of want-to. We’ve got to find a way to stop making these simple mistakes.

“I’m really not sure. At this point of the season, we have to do a better job and look at ourselves in the mirror. We’re all grown men. We all play this sport that we love. We have to find it in ourselves individually and as a team. There’s no excuses. We just have to get better.”

When the Texans play the Tennessee Titans on the road in 11 days, little will be at stake. It could resemble a preseason game as it would make sense to rest starters for the upcoming playoff game.

And the Texans have to learn from this setback and play better football to be competitive in the postseason.

“That’s the only thing we can do,” Stroud said. “There is nothing in life you can going to back on and redo, so it’s all about how you respond. You hit rock bottom, the only way is up. So, we still have a lot of hope. At the end of the day, we clinched our division. We still have an opportunity to go in the playoffs. Got to finish this year the right way against Tennessee, and hopefully by that time we’re in a groove and rolling when the playoffs come.”

SEE ALSO: ‘In God’s hands,’ Texans’ Tank Dell not sweating the small stuff after dislocating knee

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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.