The Houston Texans are 0-1 on the season, but some national media consider their performance in Week 1 to be middle of the pack.
According to John Breech from CBS Sports, the Texans earned a C grade following their 25-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium Sunday afternoon.
In C.J. Stroud’s first career game, the rookie QB wasn’t bad and he might have been better if he didn’t spend half the day running for his life. Stroud was sacked five times by the Ravens, but despite the pressure, he was still able to complete 28 of 44 passes for 242 yards. Although the scoreboard says blowout, this was close for a while. It was only 7-6 at halftime and the Texans might have been able to put a scare into the Ravens if they had done a better job of converting on fourth down (They failed on two different fourth-and-ones). The Texans defense played surprisingly well, holding the Ravens to under 270 yards of offense while also forcing two turnovers. The Texans might not win a lot of games this year, but don’t be surprised if they’re able to keep most of them close.
Houston went 0-2 in the red zone along with 0-1 in goal-to-go. If the Texans were able to convert both of their red zone trips, or even cashed in on their goal-to-go, the tenor of the game may have been different.
The Texans’ defense also showed up as the 265 yards total offense were the fifth-fewest by the Ravens on Opening Day since 1999. Although there is still room for improvement, there are already identifiable suggestions that the Texans defense has improved over the little time with DeMeco Ryans and new defensive coordinator Matt Burke.
Houston gets back into action Sept. 17 for a Week 2 encounter with the Indianapolis Colts Sunday at NRG Stadium.
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