Report Card: Ravens Earn Dunce Hat in Blowout Loss to Texans

The injuries made this one a near-impossible task. The play on the field made moved it firmly into the “Impossible” category.

The Ravens continued their dreadful start with a let’s-all-hope-that-this-is-in-fact-rock-bottom showing against the Houston Texans on Sunday. There’s not a lot to say to sugarcoat this one, so let’s just go ahead with some grades.

Offense Overall: F

They had 207 yards of offense. For the game. The entire four quarters of football. They generated 15 fewer first downs than the Texans. They averaged 2.3 yards per carry, and threw three interceptions. Down 17-3 in the second quarter, the Ravens had a third-and-eight and threw a screen pass — a screen pass that was incomplete. Oh, and there was a flag for an ineligible receiver downfield, as well. It was that kind of day.

Quarterback: C-

Cooper rush was 14-20 for 179 yards. It started out well for the backup. Rush was 5-5 on an opening drive that saw the Ravens pick up a field goal, including two really well-thrown balls on third downs. And two of his picks weren’t squarely on him. But the first one was bad. He had a terrible sack in the second quarter when he had about 12 chances to throw away the ball, but ignored all 12. He did have a great toss to Isaiah Likely on a third-and-11, and he made a nice throw on the deep one to Zay Flowers. It wasn’t great. But he wasn’t the reason the Ravens lost today. He didn’t do anything to help them win, mind you. But he wasn’t the problem.

Running Backs: D

Derrick Henry had little-to-no-room to operate, so it’s hard to cast the blame for the run game on him. But he didn’t do anything superhuman, either, and that was needed today. He earned his touchdown run through sheer will, but averaged 2.2 yards a tote. Keaton Mitchell and Justice Hill weren’t able to make anything happen with their opportunities, either.

Receivers: D

Flowers was active, with five catches for 72 yards, including that 56-yarder. Rashod Bateman appeared to slow down his route on Rush’s one interception, and Mark Andrews bobbled away another. DeAndre Hopkins caught both his targets for a combined 46 yards. Isaiah Likely had two penalties in the first half.

Offensive Line: F

Remember how I said this game wasn’t Rush’s fault? Well, on offense, it was probably this unit’s fault. No rush lanes. Joe Noteboom wasn’t a disaster out there, but he definitely got beaten a few times. Roger Rosengarten seemed pretty solid for the most part, as did Tyler Linderbaum. But the guards continue to get beaten regularly, and they are just doing nothing to get this run game started. Missing Ronnie Stanley hurt, especially against a line this good. But it was more than that. This season has been much more than that. The interior is a mess.

Defense Overall: F

The Texans came into this game offensively-challenged, particularly up front. Then they beat the stuffing out of the Ravens’ defense. In the first half, the Texans went touchdown, field goal, touchdown, touchdown. Second half? Touchdown, field goal, touchdown, field goal, backups, people laughing on sideline, people yelling at each other on Ravens’ social media. It was brutal.

Defensive Line: F

They are just getting no pass rush at all, which causes the Ravens to use guys from the back seven to help support the pass-rush, which takes a guy out of coverage. Oh, and they are getting beaten in the run game by pretty-pedestrian run games. Nick Chubb is one of my favorite players of my lifetime. With that being said, he is not the Browns Nick Chubb. Well, he looked like him today. They ran for 167 yards. Kyle Van Noy looked good in his return, with a sack and some pressure. John Jenkins gets penetration, but doesn’t always make those tackles that could blow up drives. Travis Jones looked like he had four blockers on some plays. Tavius Robinson flashed a few times, but got eaten on the edge a couple times.

Linebackers: D

Teddye Buchanan and Trenton Simpson combined for 25 tackles, but made a lot of them pretty far downfield on first watch of the game. Buchanan is very active, but misses run angles too often. They weren’t glaringly bad, and were put in a tough spot today, but they didn’t generate much on the “wow” front. Simpson did get a sack, cleaning up after a Robinson pressure.

Defensive Backs: F

I don’t remember them coming close to an interception all game, and Stroud went 23-27 with four touchdowns, so they didn’t break up many passes, either. Keyon Martin was all over the place, and did have a nice sack, but it was called back because he was offsides. He also had a pass interference flag that drive. Reuben Lowery got beat for a touchdown, but he was active a lot, too. Nate Wiggins got beat for a touchdown pass, and T.J. Tampa got beat on a couple big throws, including a touchdown.

Special Teams: D

Tyler Loop missed a 55-yarder wide right, and flirted with that right pipe on a couple successful kicks, too. Jordan Stout had a missile of a 62-yard punt called back in the second quarter, but was solid all game. Keaton Mitchell had a nice return in the second quarter, but a poor one late, that was made worse with a Ravens penalty. LaJohntay Webster had a nifty punt return of 16 yards. The coverage teams gave up 29 yards a kick return.

Coaching: F

The injuries stink. They do. And the schedule has been a serious challenge. It has. But this team stinks on ice right now, and there was nothing one could call inspiring from this performance. Condensed offenses work better with Ronnie Stanley and Patrick Ricard blasting into the defense, with Lamar Jackson shifting the numbers in the Ravens’ direction. They aren’t working now, and Henry has nowhere to run. The defense is simply poor. This isn’t miscommunication or one glaring need like we’ve seen in years past. This team can’t stop the run. Or the pass. And it can’t consistently tackle. It is absolutely about the players not winning these one-on-ones in many instances. But this staff provided no answers this week, either. Today was an opportunity for the coaches to shine. They didn’t.

The post Report Card: Ravens Earn Dunce Hat in Blowout Loss to Texans appeared first on Russell Street Report.

Source: https://russellstreetreport.com/2025/10/05/report-card/report-card-ravens-earn-dunce-hat-in-blowout-loss-to-texans/