The Houston Texans made a statement in the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1.
After the Ravens committed a running into the kicker penalty against Ty Zentner to move Houston into a fourth-and-1 from their own 47-yard line with 10:59 to go in the first quarter, coach DeMeco Ryans sent the offense back onto the field at M&T Bank Stadium.
Rather than punt and play an early game of field position, Ryans went with his rookie quarterback and decided to push his chips to the center of the table.
Ryans’ gamble didn’t pay off as quarterback C.J. Stroud was sacked for an 11-yard loss, resulting in a turnover on downs. The Ravens took over at the Texans’ 36-yard line with a favorable pathway to score first.
With 7:40 to go in the third quarter, the Texans went for it again as running back Dameon Pierce took a handoff for no gain on fourth-and-1 from the Houston 42-yard line. The Texans were down 15-6 and the resulting possession led to a Ravens touchdown.
Despite Houston coming up short on both fourth down attempts, Ryans told reporters Monday after the 25-9 loss that he would have still had the same course of action.
“I was being aggressive with our team on fourth down, and both decisions, I’ll do it again,” said Ryans.
The Texans were 1-4 on fourth downs throughout the afternoon. While the success rate may be below the median, Ryans’ decisions to go for it are part of an overarching belief in the offense that they hope pays off down the road.
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