The Ravens defense is terrible, horrible, no good, very bad. They entered Sunday ranked 31st in yards allowed and 32nd in points allowed. They aren’t likely to improve in either category after today.
The Texans scored on every first-half possession, piling up 228 yards and 24 points.
Houston leads Baltimore 24-3 at halftime.
The Texans had touchdown drives of 67, 41 and 77 and a field-goal drive of 37. They had 33 plays, 15 first downs and were 5-of-6 on third down.
C.J. Stroud went 14-of-17 for 137 yards and three touchdowns. His touchdown throws were 5 yards to Xavier Hutchinson, 10 yards to Nico Collins and 10 yards to Hutchinson.
Dalton Schultz has four catches for 53 yards, Collins two for 34 and Hutchinson three for 18.
Nick Chubb has eight rushes for 33 yards, and Stroud has one carry for 30 yards.
The Ravens, playing without starting quarterback Lamar Jackson, among others, gained only 92 yards with 66 coming on their opening drive that produced their only points. Tyler Loop made a 27-yard field goal and missed a 55-yarder on the final play of the half.
Cooper Rush is 8-of-10 for 93 yards, with DeAndre Hopkins catching two for 46 yards. Derrick Henry has only 8 yards on six carries.
The Ravens rank 31st on defense after the Cowboys played a worse defensive game in Week 4. Baltimore played like one of the worst defenses in the league on the Texans’ opening drive.
Jaylin Noel returned the opening kickoff 31 yards to the Houston 33.
The Texans used 10 plays to go the 67 yards to the end zone with C.J. Stroud hitting Xavier Hutchinson for a 5-yard score with 9:24 remaining in the first quarter.
Stroud was 4-for-5 for 46 yards, with Nico Collins catching one for 24 yards and Dalton Schultz one for 11.
Nick Chubb had two carries for 12 yards.
The Ravens ruled six players out on Friday, so they knew they’d be shorthanded for Sunday’s game against the Texans but there was a question about how many other players would be unavailable due to injuries.
Four players were listed as questionable, including safety Kyle Hamilton and left tackle Ronnie Stanley. Both of them are on the inactive list, so the Ravens are very thin on stars as they join quarterback Lamar Jackson, linebacker Roquan Smith, and cornerback Marlon Humphrey on the sideline.
Cooper Rush will get the start at quarterback and several other backups will have to shine if the Ravens are going to avoid a 1-4 start.
Texans at Ravens
Texans: WR Braxton Berrios, QB Graham Mertz, CB Zion Childress, LB Christian Harris, OL Jarrett Kingston, OL Trent Brown
Ravens: QB Lamar Jackson, S Kyle Hamilton, LB Roquan Smith, T Ronnie Stanley, CB Marlon Humphrey, CB Chidobe Awuzie, FB Patrick Ricard
Giants at Saints
Giants: LB Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles, RB Tyrone Tracy Jr., OL Evan Neal, DL Elijah Garcia, QB Jameis Winston
Saints: RB Devin Neal, CB Isaac Yiadom, OL Cesar Ruiz, T Xavier Truss, DT Khristian Boyd, DE Chase Young
Cowboys at Jets
Cowboys: WR KaVontae Turpin, RB Miles Sanders, OL Tyler Booker, OL Tyler Guyton, WR CeeDee Lamb, DT Jay Toia, DE Marshawn Kneeland
Jets: EDGE Jermaine Johnson, CB Michael Carter II, RB Kene Nwangwu, OL Esa Pole, TE Stone Smartt, TE Jelani Woods, DT Leonard Taylor
Broncos at Eagles
Broncos: DE Sai’vion Jones, LB Que Robinson, OL Frank Crum QB Sam Ehlinger, RB Jaleel McLaughlin
Eagles: QB Sam Howell, CB Mac McWilliams, OL Drew Kendall, WR Xavier Gipson
Raiders at Colts
Raiders: TE Brock Bowers, LB Germaine Pratt, G Caleb Rogers, TE Michael Mayer, DT Leki Fotu, CB Eric Stokes
Colts: WR Alec Pierce, QB Riley Leonard, CB Kenny Moore, RB Tyler Goodson, LB Buddy Johnson, T Luke Tenuta, DT Eric Johnson
Dolphins at Panthers
Dolphins: CB Storm Duck, QB Quinn Ewers, DT Zeek Biggers, RB Jaylen Wright, WR Cedrick Wilson
Panthers: TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, CB Chau Smith-Wade, RB Chuba Hubbard, LB Claudin Cherelus, DT Jaden Crumedy, DT Tershawn Wharton
The Texans officially added offensive tackle Trent Brown to their 53-man roster Saturday, which usually means a player is going to play on Sunday. But Brown won’t be on the field for the Texans against the Ravens.
Shortly after Brown signed to the active roster, the Texans announced that he isn’t traveling to Baltimore with the team. No reason was given but it is not injury related.
The 32-year-old Brown signed with the Texans in March but hasn’t played yet this season. He is coming off a very serious knee injury that he suffered a year ago while playing for the Bengals.
Brown has previously played for the Patriots, Raiders and 49ers.
Cornerback Damon Arnette is set to make his first regular season appearance since 2021.
The Texans elevated Arnette and safety Jalen Mills from their practice squad on Saturday. They also officially signed tackle Trent Brown to the 53-man roster and placed defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi on injured reserve.
Arnette was a 2020 first-round pick of the Raiders and played 12 games for them before being released during his second season amid concerns about his off-field behavior. Arnette resurfaced in the UFL this year and signed with the Texans after that season was over.
Mills also joined the Texans this offseason and he’s set to make his first appearance of the season. Mills has played in 115 games over the course of his career.
The Texans play in Baltimore at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
