For 30 minutes, it looked like the Houston Texans could pull off the upset in the divisional round.
They went into halftime against the favored Baltimore Ravens — the AFC’s top seed — tied 10-10. They’d limited the league’s fourth-ranked scoring offense to a single touchdown. They did so in a very un-Texans way.
They got that far by blitzing the hell out of Lamar Jackson.
The Texans put an early lasso on 2023’s presumptive MVP with continual pressure. Head coach DeMeco Ryans was content to leave five players in his secondary, chancing single coverage against Zay Flowers (who is good), Odell Beckham Jr. (who is 31 years old) and a supporting cast of Rashod Bateman, Isaiah Likely, Charlie Kolar and Nelson Agholor (who are …fine). When Jackson had time to throw — via extra protection or escaping pressure to extend plays — he exploited these holes for short, impactful gains:
NELLY TD 🚨
Tune in on ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/AGLkttkJhm
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 20, 2024
But Jackson had little time to look downfield early on. Only three of his first half passes traveled more than 10 yards beyond the line of scrimmage in a game that was knotted at halftime. This was because Ryans’ pressure — and the relentless pursuit of linebacker Christian Harris — gave him time to look upfield OR fire off a proper pass, but rarely both.
enjoying DeMeco Ryans' "throw bodies at Lamar Jackson until he dies" defense pic.twitter.com/CcMDrhpmQd
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) January 20, 2024
This wasn’t standard operating procedure for Houston. The Texans’ 21.0 percent blitz rate was the fifth-lowest in the NFL. Per Next Gen Stats, they brought extra pass rushers on 13 of Jackson’s 18 dropbacks in the first half — 72 percent. When they didn’t to open up the second half, the explosive dual-threat quarterback made them pay.
EIGHT THE GREATâť—
Tune in on ESPN/ABC! pic.twitter.com/JjaVabFmBk
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 20, 2024
Houston’s four-man rush still did work to collapse in on Jackson on the play above, but the sudden vacancy up the middle created the vacuum Baltimore rode to a 15-yard rushing touchdown. It’s a run play all the way, designed to look like a pass. And while offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s call may have been meant to capitalize on the Texans’ aggression, this one worked in spite of the extra defenders at the second level.
This success wasn’t limited to Jackson runs. Giving him time in the pocket did more than just create extra running lanes. After attempting (and completing) only one pass that traveled at least 15 yards downfield in Houston’s heavy-pressure first half, he added three more in his first two drives after halftime — drives that covered 148 total yards and ended in two touchdowns.
Texans rush 4 again, give Lamar Jackson a bunch of time, then pay for it pic.twitter.com/fxpEgctx9r
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) January 20, 2024
When Houston was less aggressive, it got shredded en route to a 34-10 loss.
This isn’t to say the Texans lost because they couldn’t blitz forever. They probably would have been beaten even if they’d kept up that aggression. That’s because…