Quarterback C.J. Stroud described Houston’s performance in their embarrassing 31-2 loss to Baltimore on Wednesday.
“Sometimes you go out there and lay an egg,” Stroud said. “It’s not easy to say that, but that’s what happened. Didn’t play well from the first play to the last.”
The AFC South champion Texans (9-7) managed only a safety and faced their worst loss of the season in front of a home crowd that booed them frequently in the second half.
“That’s nothing that we represent, nothing that we talked about all year, all season, all week,” 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.”
The Texans gave up a season-high 251 rushing yards, with the Ravens’ Derrick Henry running for 147 yards and quarterback Lamar Jackson adding 87 yards, breaking Michael Vick’s NFL career rushing record for quarterbacks.
“This game comes down to guys making plays and they had two exceptional playmakers on their side in Lamar and Derrick Henry,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “They made plays and that was the game.”
A loss like this is especially worrying for a team with only one week left before the playoffs. Defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said the issues weren’t due to lack of effort, but from continuing to make simple mistakes.
“It’s embarrassing,” Anderson said. “That’s not playoff football, and I think everybody in this locker room knows that from the top to the bottom.
We have to do a better job and 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… we have to hold guys accountable and make sure that everybody’s doing their job.”
Rookie Kamari Lassiter tackled Henry for a 4-yard loss for the safety with about 10 minutes left in the first half, making it 10-2.
Dameon Pierce returned the following kickoff 45 yards, getting the Texans to their 43-yard line. But they couldn’t convert, as Joe Mixon was stopped on the 1-yard line after catching a short pass on fourth-and-3.
Stroud threw for 185 yards, but was sacked five times, threw an interception, and Mixon rushed for just 26 yards as the Texans lost their second straight game. They struggled to finish drives in their first game since star receiver Tank Dell was lost for the season with a knee injury in a previous loss to the Chiefs.
Mixon declined to speak to reporters after the game, but Stroud took responsibility for the loss.
“Terrible on my behalf, probably one of my worst games in my whole career,” he said. “Just came out flat, didn’t have any energy. I didn’t lead the offense the way I should have.”
Stroud said he’s not concerned about the team and believes that dwelling on the loss won’t help. He plans to do everything he can to help the Texans move forward and improve in their next game.
“I’m sure a lot of people in their careers have had this type of game before,” he said. “I’m not going to sit here and act like this is just foreign. But it is necessary to wake you up and that’s what it’s going to do for me and this team.”
