Baltimore Ravens (1-0) – Houston Texans (0-1): 25-9
Intriguing duel to open the season at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. On the one hand, Lamar Jackson finally got his star quarterback contract. On the other hand, Houston is starting rookie CJ Stroud for the first time, selected second in the draft a few months ago.
If the Texans did not have the quality to bring down a solid Ravens team, they nevertheless showed rather interesting phases in defense. The DeMeco Ryans paw?
The Ravens held their position as favorite, but lost Ronnie Stanley (LT) and JK Dobbins in the process.
Baltimore hones in attack
In the first half, the Ravens’ attack was rather laborious. Amputated by Mark Andrews, injured at the last minute, it begins with a 3&out then an interception from Steven Nelson. If the Texans defense shows itself, this is not the case for the attack which does not take advantage of it and strings together three punts in a row.
At halftime, only the Ravens entered the end zone, through running back JK Dobbins (8 races, 22 yards, 1 touchdown), unfortunately once again injured a few actions later. Opposite, the Texans barely manage to score two field goals. 7-6 at the break.
Baltimore widens the gap, Stroud under pressure
In the second half, Baltimore scores two touchdowns in a row thanks to an attack that finds its bearings. In particular, a Lamar Jackson (17/22, 169 yards, 1 touchdown, 6 races, 38 yards) correct without being transcendent who establishes a nice connection with the rookie Zay Flowers (9 receptions, 78 yards) electric with the ball in hand.
CJ Stroud is experiencing a more than difficult first in the NFL. Constantly under pressure, and devoid of targets (his best receiver will be Nico Collins with 80 yards), the rookie takes 5 sacks and 10 QB hits!
The visitors never managed to reach the goal, settling for a small field goal in the second period. The rookie Will Anderson Jr. drafted in 3rd position, still stood out with 1 sack and 2 QB Hits.
Next week, the Texans will try to get their first victory against the Colts.
The Ravens are already playing a decisive match against the Bengals with a view to winning the division. But the infirmary is already filling up on the Baltimore side, which is therefore unable to get rid of the injury virus.
