The Texans’ bid for the franchise’s first AFC championship game was there for the taking.
But it was the Baltimore Ravens who ended up grabbing it instead.
The Ravens, the AFC’s No. 1 seed, dominated the second half after a tight opening 30 minutes to beat the Texans 34-10 in their divisional playoff game Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
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That ended a remarkable turnaround season for the Texans, who went from 3-13-1 last season to winning the AFC South with first-year coach DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
The Texans were held without an offensive touchdown for only the second time this season. The other came in the same place in a 25-9 to the Ravens in Week 1.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, the likely NFL Most Valuable Player, threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more Saturday to lead Baltimore to its first AFC title game since the 2012 season, when the Ravens won the Super Bowl.
A 67-yard punt return touchdown by backup receiver Steven Sims Jr. helped the Texans tie the score before halftime, but that was as close as they got.
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Jackson’s 15-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the second half gave Baltimore the lead for good.
The Texans then drove to the Baltimore 39 on their next drive, but a double reverse and flea flicker on first down backfired for a 5-yard loss and they ended up punting.
Houston didn’t come close to scoring again as Baltimore salted the game away with two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Ravens 34, Texans 10
| Houston | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | 10 |
| Baltimore | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 | — | 34 |
First Quarter
Bal_FG Tucker 53, 8:36. Drive: 9 plays, 41 yards, 4:55. Key Plays: L.Jackson 12 pass to Beckham; L.Jackson 9 pass to Bateman on 3rd-and-12. Baltimore 3, Houston 0.
Hou_FG Fairbairn 50, :28. Drive: 8 plays, 23 yards, 2:54. Key Plays: Stroud 10 pass to N.Collins on 3rd-and-10; Stroud 21 pass to Schultz. Houston 3, Baltimore 3.
Second Quarter
Bal_Agholor 3 pass from L.Jackson (Tucker kick), 9:14. Drive: 12 plays, 76 yards, 6:14. Key Plays: Duvernay kick return to Baltimore 24; L.Jackson 23 run; L.Jackson 17 pass to Flowers; Edwards 6 run on 3rd-and-1; L.Jackson 15 run on 3rd-and-5. Baltimore 10, Houston 3.
Hou_Sims 67 punt return (Fairbairn kick), 4:17. Drive: 4 plays, 0 yards, 3:04. Key Play: L.Jackson 1 run on 3rd-and-11. Houston 10, Baltimore 10.
Third Quarter
Bal_L.Jackson 15 run (Tucker kick), 12:04. Drive: 7 plays, 55 yards, 2:56. Key Plays: Duvernay kick return to Baltimore 45; L.Jackson 19 pass to Likely. Baltimore 17, Houston 10.
Fourth Quarter
Bal_Likely 15 pass from L.Jackson (Tucker kick), 14:23. Drive: 12 plays, 93 yards, 7:03. Key Plays: L.Jackson 21 pass to Bateman; J.Hill 1 run on 3rd-and-2; L.Jackson 14 run on 4th-and-1; L.Jackson 3 pass to J.Hill on 3rd-and-2. Baltimore 24, Houston 10.
Bal_L.Jackson 8 run (Tucker kick), 6:20. Drive: 11 plays, 78 yards, 7:10. Key Plays: L.Jackson 10 run; J.Hill 14 run; Cook 19 run; L.Jackson 11 pass to Flowers on 3rd-and-7. Baltimore 31, Houston 10.
Bal_FG Tucker 43, 1:56. Drive: 8 plays, 8 yards, 3:08. Key Plays: J.Hill 2 run on 3rd-and-5; J.Hill 5 run on 4th-and-3. Baltimore 34, Houston 10.
___
| Hou | Bal | |
|---|---|---|
| FIRST DOWNS | 10 | 22 |
| Rushing | 1 | 12 |
| Passing | 8 | 10 |
| Penalty | 1 | 0 |
| THIRD DOWN EFF | 4-12 | 4-12 |
| FOURTH DOWN EFF | 0-1 | 2-2 |
| TOTAL NET YARDS | 213 | 352 |
| Total Plays | 47 | 67 |
| Avg Gain | 4.5 | 5.3 |
| NET YARDS RUSHING | 38 | 229 |
| Rushes | 14 | 42 |
| Avg per rush | 2.714 | 5.452 |
| NET YARDS PASSING | 175 | 123 |
| Sacked-Yds lost | 0-0 | 3-29 |
| Gross-Yds passing | 175 | 152 |
| Completed-Att. | 19-33 | 16-22 |
| Had Intercepted | 0 | 0 |
| Yards-Pass Play | 5.303 | 4.92 |
| KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB | 3-1-1 | 7-5-4 |
| PUNTS-Avg. | 5-43.4 | 4-42.25 |
| Punts blocked | 0 | 0 |
| FGs-PATs blocked | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE | 136 | 64 |
| Punt Returns | 1-67 | 1-11 |
| Kickoff Returns | 3-69 | 2-53 |
| Interceptions | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| PENALTIES-Yds | 11-70 | 3-15 |
| FUMBLES-Lost | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| TIME OF POSSESSION | 22:25 | 37:35 |
___
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING_Houston, Singletary 9-22, Stroud 3-9, Ogunbowale 2-7. Baltimore, Jackson 11-100, Hill 13-66, Edwards 10-40, Cook 8-23.
PASSING_Houston, Stroud 19-33-0-175. Baltimore, Jackson 16-22-0-152.
RECEIVING_Houston, N.Collins 5-68, Singletary 5-48, Schultz 5-43, Hutchinson 2-(minus 3), Ogunbowale 1-13, Woods 1-6. Baltimore, Flowers 4-41, Bateman 3-39, Likely 2-34, Agholor 2-12, Hill 2-11, Beckham 1-12, Kolar 1-4, Edwards 1-(minus 1).
PUNT RETURNS_Houston, Sims 1-67. Baltimore, Duvernay 1-11.
KICKOFF RETURNS_Houston, Sims 2-52, Pierce 1-17. Baltimore, Duvernay 2-53.
TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS_Houston, C.Harris 6-1-0, Nelson 6-1-0, King 5-0-1, Pitre 4-2-0, Greenard 4-1-0, Cashman 4-0-1, Rankins 3-0-0, To'oTo'o 3-0-0, Barnett 2-3-0, Houston-Carson 2-3-0, Perryman 2-3-0, Hinish 2-1-1, Stingley 2-1-0, Anderson 1-0-0, M.Collins 1-0-0, Davis 1-0-0, Sanders 1-0-0. Baltimore, Smith 5-2-0, Queen 5-0-0, Darby 3-0-0, Hamilton 3-0-0, Madubuike 2-1-0, Maulet 2-1-0, Stephens 2-1-0, Harrison 1-3-0, Clowney 1-1-0, B.Washington 1-1-0, Jones 1-0-0, Van Noy 1-0-0, M.Williams 0-2-0, Oweh 0-1-0, Pierce 0-1-0, Robinson 0-1-0, Stone 0-1-0.
INTERCEPTIONS_Houston, None. Baltimore, None.
MISSED FIELD GOALS_Houston, Fairbairn 47.
___
OFFICIALS_Referee John Hussey, Ump Carl Paganelli, HL Frank LeBlanc, LJ Carl Johnson, FJ Tom Hill, SJ Allen Baynes, BJ Matt Edwards, Replay Andrew Lambert.
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Here’s how the game played out:
Fourth quarter: Baltimore 34, Houston 10
Summary: The Ravens showed why they are the top seed in the AFC. After opening the quarter with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to tight end Isaiah Likely, the defense forced another three-and-out, and then it was a 78-yard touchdown drive with runs on 10 of 11 plays to put the game away on an 8-yard run by Jackson. The only thing that kept Houston from another three-and-out was going for it on fourth down (and missing). Baltimore did its best to run the clock out but added a 43-yard field goal by Justin Tucker with 1:56 remaining.
Key stat: The Texans had six plays on offense and totaled 24 yards on their first two drives of the quarter. — Reid Laymance
Deficit grows
Justin Tucker nails a 43-yard field goal with 1:56 left to push Baltimore’s lead to 34-10.
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In dire straits
Lamar Jackson’s second touchdown run, an 8-yarder around left end, boosts the Ravens' lead to 31-10 with 6:20 left in the fourth quarter. The Texans will need a miracle at this point. — Greg Rajan
Texans on the ropes
The Ravens are inside the Texans' 20 with less than seven minutes left and up 24-10. The knockout blow could be coming soon. — Greg Rajan
Texans in big hole
A 15-yard touchdown pass from Lamar Jackson to Isaiah Likely makes it 24-10 Ravens with 14:23 left in the fourth quarter. The wheels have come off since the Texans tried that trick play on the previous drive. — Greg Rajan
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Third quarter: Baltimore 17, Houston 10
Summary: The quarter belonged to Lamar Jackson. On Baltimore’s opening drive, which got a boost on a 37-yard kick return by Devin Duvernay, Jackson completed 3 of 4 passes for 47 and yards and then easily scored on a 15-yard run. Baltimore’s next drive — after Texans stalled at the Ravens 39 — was a bit longer. Starting at their seven, the Ravens moved all the way to the Texans 19 to end the quarter. Jackson had the key play with a 14-yard run on fourth-and-1 at the Houston 49.
Key stat: Lamar Jackson completed 7 of 9 for 74 yards and rushed for 32 yards on three carries. — Reid Laymance
Nelson hobbled
Texans cornerback Steven Nelson is slow to get up making a tackle. It appears to be an upper body injury. He’s walking off the field slowly. — Jonathan M. Alexander
Gamble pays off
Facing a 4th-and-1 at midfield, John Harbaugh opted to keep his Ravens on the field instead of punting to a struggling Texans offense. The gamble paid off with quarterback Lamar Jackson keeping the ball on a designed run for a 14-yard gain. — Matt Young
Trickery doesn’t fool anyone
The Texans had first down at the Ravens' 39, then tried a double reverse and flea flicker on a trick play that lost 5 yards and led to them punting. Just a terrible series of events in a game so big. Baltimore still leads 17-10 with 6:26 left in the third quarter. — Greg Rajan
Man on the run
That’s three runs of 15 yards or more by Lamar Jackson today. All have been scrambles up the middle and all have ended in some kind of score for the Ravens. — Jonathan M. Alexander
Ravens back ahead
One play after Jalen Pitre couldn’t hold on to an interception in the end zone, Lamar Jackson scores on a 15-yard run up the middle. Baltimore leads 17-10 with 12:04 left in the third quarter. The Ravens covered 55 yards in six plays over 2:56. — Greg Rajan
Harris down
Texans linebacker Christian Harris was being looked at by trainers. He is slow to get up and is able to jog off the field but he’ll come out of the game. — Jonathan M. Alexander
First-half observations
It’s been a defensive battle so far. Nothing has been easy for the Texans or the Ravens. A few observations:
• The penalties? Far too any. They are just hurting themselves. The Texans have been called for eight penalties for 50 yards, including six by the offense. Four have been false starts called against the offensive line. C.J. Stroud was called for an intentional grounding and a delay of game penalty.
• The Texans' defense has really got into a rhythm. They’ve sacked Lamar Jackson three times, including twice on that final drive. He is 7 of 11 for 52 yards.
• The one thing they haven’t done is keep him from scrambling for a first down. They’ve got to do a better job containing him. The Ravens have rushed for 95 yards in the first half.
• The Texans have been at their best when they’ve thrown on first down. The Ravens are stacking the box and getting after the run on first down. Devin Singletary has six carries for only eight yards. It might be smart to mix it up similarly to how they did against the Browns. The Texans can’t be predictable against the Ravens, who lead the NFL in turnovers. — Jonathan M. Alexander
Second quarter: Houston 10, Baltimore 10
Summary: Steven Sims Jr., who has been up and down on between the Texans practice squad and roster all season, broke a 67-yard punt return to give Houston a tie at halftime. With Lamar Jackson making big runs, the Ravens had taken a 10-3 lead on their first drive of the quarter. But Houston’s defense forced consecutive three-and-outs by Baltimore and converted on the return up the middle by Sims, who played in high school at Fort Bend Travis. The Texans had a chance for a lead at the half by Ka’imi Fairbairn pushed a 47-yard field goal attempt to the right. The Texans sacked Jackson on consecutive plays to keep the Ravens from having a chance at field goal before the half.
Key stat: The Texans sacked Lamar Jackson three times for 29 yards in losses. — Reid Laymance
Rare miss
Ka’imi Fairbairn had made 38 straight field goals shorter than 50 yards before that miss from 47 yards out. He was kicking directly into a 15-mph wind, but Ravens kicker Justin Tucker had no issues kicking to that side of the field when he made a 53-yarder in the first quarter. — Matt Young
Missing chance for lead
Ka’imi Fairbairn misses a field goal for just the second time this season, pushing a 47-yard attempt wide right with 32 seconds left in the first half. The score is still tied at 10-10. — Greg Rajan
Happy returns
That Steven Sims Jr. punt return for TD is the Texans third special teams touchdown this season. Andrew Beck had a kick return for a touchdown in Week 3. Dameon Pierce had a kick return for a touchdown in Week 16. — Jonathan M. Alexander
Huge boost from special teams
Steven Sims Jr. returns a punt 67 yards for a touchdown and the Texans tie the score at 10-10 with 4:17 left in the first half. That’s a plot twist. — Greg Rajan
Big spot here
A questionable second-down spot followed by a bad third-down run force a Texans punt at their 33. This is a big spot in this game coming up with Baltimore getting the ball back up seven points. with 7-plus minutes left in the first half. — Greg Rajan
There goes that man
Lamar Jackson had two scrambles on the Ravens' touchdown drive, one for 15 yards and another for 23. The Texans have to do a better job of containing Jackson. On both runs, no one was nearby. — Jonathan M. Alexander
Ravens find paydirt
The Ravens score the game’s first touchdown on a 3-yard pass from Lamar Jackson to Nelson Agholor. Justin Tucker’s extra point makes it 10-3 Baltimore with 9:14 left in the second quarter. The Ravens' drive covered 76 yards in 11 plays over 6:14. — Greg Rajan
First quarter: Houston 3, Baltimore 3
Summary: The Texans won the coin toss and elected to receive and get the ball in the hands of C.J. Stroud right away. Houston went three-and-out on that drive and the Ravens came back with a 41-yard drive (40 by Lamar Jackson, running and passing). Christian Harris slowed the drive with a shoestring tackle of Jackson for a loss. Houston’s offense gradually did better but Stroud was under pressure seemingly on every pass. Ka’imi Fairbairn tied the game with a 50-yarder with 33 seconds left. But on last play of quarter, Jackson scrambled for 23 yards to get Ravens near midfield to start the second.
Key stat: The Texans had six penalties for 45 yards. — Reid Laymance
Bad ending
Lamar Jackson runs for 23 yards on first down on the final play of the first quarter, putting the Ravens at their 47 to start the second quarter. — Greg Rajan
Texans draw even
A 50-yard Ka’imi Fairbairn field goal ties the score at 3-3 with 28 seconds left in the first quarter. — Greg Rajan
Texans dodge a bullet
A tipped C.J. Stroud pass can’t be hauled in by Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton with Houston inside the Baltimore 30. A big break for the Texans. — Greg Rajan
Good spot for Texans
The Texans will start their next drive in good field position at their 45. It could’ve been better, but Kris Boyd was called for holding on the Ravens' punt, denying a start in Baltimore territory. There’s 3:22 left in the first quarter with the Ravens still up 3-0. — Greg Rajan
Crucial errors
The Texans committed three crucial penalties on what looked like a promising drive, which pushed them out of field goal range. A false start on Laremy Tunsil, an intentional grounding on C.J. Stroud and a false start on Shaq Mason may have cost them three points and a chance to tie this game. — Jonathan M. Alexander
Going in wrong direction
The Texans get to the Ravens' 32 on their second drive, but a false start on first down, an intentional grounding penalty on second down and then another false start put them in third-and-21, leading to a punt. The Ravens will get the ball at their 12 with 5:02 left. Baltimore leads 3-0. — Greg Rajan
Wind, what wind?
The wind figures to be a factor here with it blowing at 24 mph. However, Justin Tucker is wind-proof. The Ravens kicker, who owns the all-time best field goal percentage (90.2) in NFL history, kicked that 53-yard field goal directly into the wind without any issue. — Matt Young
Ravens strike first
Baltimore moves the ball into Houston territory, but settles for a 53-yard field goal from the reliable Justin Tucker for a 3-0 lead with 8:36 left in the first quarter. — Greg Rajan
Slow start for Texans
The Texans won the coin toss and in a departure from their norm, took the ball first. They went three and out and punted. Baltimore starts at its 25. with 13:31 to go in the first quarter. — Greg Rajan
Texans fans feeling good
Quite a few Texans fans made the trip from Houston and had a good time during pregame. They also like their team’s chances of pulling an upset. “We’ve felt like all the fans here are scared,” said Arthur Ramirez as he stood in the front row during pregame warmups. “They talk to us and we’re like, 'Bro, we’re just here for a good time. Either we’ll be drinking in cheers or drinking in tears.' It seems like they’re all nervous about that. The fact that we don’t have anything to lose has them a little scared.” — Matt Young
Ryans looks to join exclusive club
With a win today, DeMeco Ryans would become the 15th rookie head coach to make a conference championship game. Here are the others to do it:
1971: Don McCafferty, Colts (beat Cowboys in Super Bowl)
1977: Red Miller, Broncos (lost to Cowboys in Super Bowl)
1989: Bud Carson, Browns (lost to Broncos)
1989: George Seifert, 49ers (beat Broncos in Super Bowl)
1994: Barry Switzer, Cowboys (lost to 49ers)
1997: Steve Mariucci, 49ers (lost to Packers)
2002: Bill Callahan, Raiders (lost to Buccaneers in Super Bowl)
2004: Jim Mora Jr., Falcons (lost to Eagles)
2006: Sean Payton, Saints (lost to Bears)
2008: John Harbaugh, Ravens (lost to Steelers)
2009: Rex Ryan, Jets (lost to Colts)
2009: Jim Caldwell, Colts (lost to Saints in Super Bowl)
2011: Jim Harbaugh, 49ers (lost to Giants)
2019: Matt LaFleur, Packers (lost to 49ers)
— Greg Rajan
Andrew Beck is active
All hands on deck for the Texans in their divisional game against the Ravens. DE Jonathan Greenard and Will Anderson Jr. are active as expected. So is FB Andrew Beck who was dealing with an injury this week. — Jonathan M. Alexander
Texans inactives
QB Case Keenum
TE Eric Saubert
DE Jerry Hughes
DT Teair Tart
G Nick Broeker
Jim Harbaugh in the building
Ravens coach John Harbaugh flew to Houston two weeks ago to watch his brother Jim lead the Michigan Wolverines to the national championship at NRG Stadium, and now Jim is doing the same. While rumors swirl about whether he’ll remain the head coach at Michigan or return to the NFL, Jim Harbaugh is at M&T Bank Stadium to support his brother against the Texans. — Matt Young
Icy seats
The field at M&T Bank Stadium is completely free of snow and most of the snow has been cleared out of the stands, but three hours before kickoff and workers are still putting salt on stadium steps and some of the seats to remove the ice on a 23-degree day. Yes, some of the seats are covered in ice. Good luck to you if that’s your seat. — Matt Young
Weather report
Although the city’s streets and sidewalks are lined with piles of snow, the Texans woke up Saturday not having to worry about dealing with any ice when they arrive at M&T Bank Stadium. Temperatures are in the low 20s Saturday morning and expected to hit 25 degrees at kickoff. Winds are expected to pick up later in the day, giving it a wind chill of 12. By the end of the game, temperatures are expected to hit about 20 with a wind chill of 8. — Matt Young
Predictions
Ravens 30, Texans 27: The Texans will make this a close game. C.J. Stroud has been special all year, and as long as his top players are healthy, he’ll be special again. He doesn’t flinch in these moments. I just wonder how the defense will contain the Ravens. Whoever has the ball last will win this game on a game-winning field goal. Logic is telling me the Ravens will pull it out but if it’s the other way around and the Texans win, I won’t be surprised at all. — Jonathan M. Alexander
Texans 27, Ravens 24: The Texans outcoached and outplayed the Browns last week. I expect DeMeco Ryans to have his team focused and ready to play today. That’s why I’m picking the upset. A lot will have to go right for it to happen, but the Texans are good enough to do something special. — Jerome Solomon
Previous coverage
Alexander: Nine thoughts and a prediction.
Solomon: A chance at history.
How Bobby Slowik turned Houston’s offense around and became top coaching candidate.
The development of Derek Stingley Jr.
Houston’s other top pick, Will Anderson Jr., is becoming a cornerstone on defense.
How a Week 1 loss to Ravens helped define C.J. Stroud’s leadership.
Podcast: Can Texans pull the upset?
Mailbag: What has changed since Week 1.
