Last week, the Texans had a breakout 4th quarter with three touchdowns. This week, they exploded with three in the first half and sailed into the finish with a 44-10 win at Baltimore.
Beating the Ravens for the first time ever on the road was one thing. But to play a masterpiece game with three takeaways and four touchdown passes added to the historic occasion.
Yes, the Ravens were depleted with injuries. But take nothing away from a clean performance that saw the Texans register their first punt only after they went to the bench with a 34 point lead.
C.J. Stroud and the offense were harmoniously balanced with pass and run. The ground attack was good for 167 yards and Stroud's passer rating was a stellar 143.9 with the four TDs, the most he's thrown since the epic Tampa Bay game exactly 11 months ago.
He came into the game with 4 TDs and left with double that number. Stroud also added a career-long 30 yard run to set up one of the scores.
It's hard to decide which was the more impressive side of the ball. How about both?
Yes, the Ravens were without Lamar Jackson. But Cooper Rush is 9-5 as a starter. And he had one of the best backs in history to work with. Houston held Derrick Henry to 33 yards on 15 carries, a similar performance to the ones they had in the two 2023 meetings with Henry when he was still a Titan.
Big picture wise – this is just what the doctor, in this case, DeMeco Ryans, ordered. A rousing win that validates all of the hard work of the offseason and regular season – heading into a bye week to recharge the batteries.
It took the Texans a little while to find their groove this year, and the competition is about to get tougher.
But the win over the Ravens was massive toward establishing an identity and getting the team ready for a rugged stretch of games following the week off.
Luckily, three of the next four will be at home.
