NFL Week 1 Game Recap: Baltimore Ravens 25, Houston Texans 9

The Baltimore Ravens defeated the Houston Texans 25-9 at home to open the season with a win.

The Ravens took the lead in the first quarter on a J.K. Dobbins four-yard touchdown run before the Texans answered with a pair of field goals to trail 7-6 at the half. The Ravens offense got going again on the opening drive of the second half, with some big plays between Lamar Jackson and Zay Flowers closed out by Justice Hill from two yards out for the score. Hill would score another later in the quarter, again from two yards out, as the Ravens extended their lead to 22-6. The teams would trade field goals, but that was as close as the Texans could get to the Ravens.

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Offensive spotlight: The Ravens' new offense was on display, as the team lined up in 11 personnel on 43.8% of its snaps. However, as much as this was the debut for their new offense, it’s clear that Lamar Jackson’s rushing ability is still going to be key to what the Ravens do. The 2019 unanimous NFL MVP led the team with 38 rushing yards on six carries. 

A big concern for the Ravens offense coming out of this game is the lack of ball security, as Jackson coughed up a pair of fumbles and an interception. However, the biggest news was a suspected torn Achilles injury for Dobbins, which would almost certainly end his season if confirmed. They also lost left tackle and center Tyler Linderbaum during the game, something to keep an eye on in the coming days.

Defensive spotlight: The Ravens were able to apply plenty of pressure on rookie C.J. Stroud in his NFL debut, with Baltimore knocking him down with a hit or sack 11 times. Second-year edge defender David Ojabo had the play of the day on the defensive side of the ball, sacking Stroud and forcing a fumble in the fourth quarter. Both teams saw key injuries at safety in this game, with the Ravens' Marcus Williams and Texans' Jalen Pitre both missing the entire second half.

If the Texans are to take some positives from this game, they covered the intermediate areas of the field pretty well and made life difficult for Jackson, as Zay Flowers was the only Ravens receiver to finish the game with more than 40 yards.

Rookie spotlight: Zay Flowers is going to be a big part of this offense. In this first quarter alone, he received four targets and one rushing attempt and finished the game with 87 rushing and receiving yards on 11 total touches.

C.J. Stroud faced as tough an opponent as you could hope for. He had some nice moments, was put under a lot of pressure by the Ravens defense and finished the game 28-for-44 for 242 yards. Will Anderson Jr., the third overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, recorded his first sack as a professional, bringing Jackson down in the fourth quarter, while wide receiver Tank Dell received four targets, picking up 34 yards on three receptions.

Box Score

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

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