Pundits Questionโ Whetherโ Ravens Hit ‘Rock โBottom’ With Loss โขto Texans
Baltimore’s offense struggled mightily in a decisive loss to Houstonโ on Sunday, raising questions about whether the team hasโข reached โa lowโค point during Lamar Jackson‘s absence. The Ravens fellโฃ to the Texans, andโค the performance has sparked criticism from โคanalysts questioning the team’s direction without their star quarterback.
Cooper Rushโ threw three interceptions in his first start asโค a Raven,and the running โฃgame produced a season-low 44 yards on 19 carries,averaging just 2.3 yards โฃper carry. Derrickโข Henry,despite receiving 15 carries – his second-highest total this season – was limited toโ 33 yards.
“On paper, it was a bad matchup for Cooper Rush to make his first start in aโค Ravens jersey. that played out on the gridiron,” NFL.com’s Kevin Patra wrote. “Rush โขwas under โขsiege and could not establish a โฃrhythm against aโฃ stout Texans defense.โ Between self-inflicted mistakes and penalties,Baltimore โฃnever gave itself much of a chance on Sunday. With little โrun โhelp to speak of, Rush never found consistency, forced to mostly short throws. Of his 179 passing yards, 85โ came on two plays (47.5%).
“The second drive of the second half underscored the Ravens’ issues. Following a Rushโฃ INT, the Ravens attemptedโ to jumpstart Derrick Henry.Three straight runs,though,only netted eight yards. Lined up to go forโข it on fourth-and-2 down 31-3, Baltimore false-started and was forced to punt. A big 56-yard pass to Zay Flowers,followed by a shortโฃ Henry TD,gave some life late inโฃ the โthird quarter,but it โwasโ far too little,far too late. The veteran โคrunning back was surprisingly still takingโค handoffs deep into the fourth quarter โofโฃ a blowout. If Henry is going to stay on the struggle bus, Baltimore’s offense โขwillโฃ findโ it hard to move the ball as long as Lamar Jackson is out.”
