The Texans' glaring weakness came to light in loss to Ravens

Houston Texans running back Devin Singletary (26) runs the ball against Baltimore Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen (6) and cornerback Brandon Stephens (21) during the third quarter of an AFC divisional round game at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Houston Texans are ahead of schedule. However, following a 34-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs, one glaring weakness highlighted why they still have a ways to go before being considered a genuine AFC contender.

While the score might indicate a blowout, the Texans hung tough up until halftime, but the offense posted a zero in the second half, mainly due to the lack of a rushing threat.

Throughout the game, the Houston offensive line failed to get a push, and the Ravens were unbothered by running back Devin Singletary.

Singletary carried the ball only nine times for 22 yards, averaging a paltry 2.4 yards per carry. Meanwhile, quarterback C.J. Stroud ran three times for nine yards as the team as a whole rushed for only 38 yards.

On the surface, 14 total rushing attempts in a game doesn’t seem like enough. Though, that’s precisely the point. The Ravens shut down any chance of a run game early, and with it eliminated, they could focus on keeping Stroud and his receiving weapons under wraps.

Once Baltimore gained a two-possession lead early in the fourth quarter, it was all but over for Houston, and an offense now forced to be predictable.

The offense’s lack of consistency and well-roundedness ultimately weighed on the Texans’ defense. Unsurprisingly, after gaining the lead, the Ravens pounded Houston on the ground, rushing for 134 yards against the league’s sixth-ranked run defense in the second half alone to turn a close 10-10 game at the break into a laugher.

Ranked 22nd in rushing yards during the regular season, the Texans flirted with Saturday’s result for most of the year, but the Ravens finally made them pay.

The Texans have many exciting pieces, the building blocks that grow into a Super Bowl contender. They have the right head coach in DeMeco Ryans, the quarterback in Stroud, electric wideouts Nico Collins and Tank Dell, and a defense highlighted by Will Anderson that finished 11th in the NFL.

However, unless they upgrade the run game through personnel improvements along the o-line and in the backfield, they’ll risk becoming one-dimensional against the league’s best, like the Ravens, again.

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