ExtremeRavens Posted yesterday at 07:51 PM Posted yesterday at 07:51 PM Here’s what The Baltimore Sun sports staff had to say immediately after the Ravens’ 44-10 loss to the Houston Texans in Week 5 of the NFL season on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium: Brian Wacker, reporter Things were already in bad shape for the banged-up Ravens, and they got worse Sunday when Pro Bowl safety Kyle Hamilton and Pro Bowl left tackle Ronnie Stanley weren’t available because of injuries, either. Not that it would have mattered much. Between backup quarterback Cooper Rush getting the nod in place of Lamar Jackson, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury, and five rookies starting on Baltimore’s defense, this one had the look of a preseason lineup. As much as the Texans’ offense has struggled this year — 29th in points, 25th in yards — playing against a bunch of second-teamers really exposed the difference between NFL starters and backups, particularly when so many of the latter are first-year players. Baltimore came into this season with perhaps the most talented team of starters on paper, but on grass has been continually exposed. With the Ravens down eight starters on Sunday, this quickly turned into a get-right game for Houston and quarterback C.J. Stroud. Worse yet, Baltimore showed little fight, with a slew of missed tackles, an inability to get off blocks and making the kinds of mistakes that you usually see during training camp. The Ravens came into this season with Super Bowl expectations and instead are on the precipice of absolute disaster. Mike Preston, columnist By the time this game was over, the stands were nearly empty at M&T Bank Stadium. In fact, there have been more fans at preseason games than were in The Bank when the final whistle sounded. The Ravens were embarrassed and humiliated by one of the worst offensive teams in the NFL. There was a hope that this Ravens team could rebound after being humbled by Kansas City last week, but it was over after the coin toss. Not only did the offense look much like it did a week ago, but this was virtually a 7-on-7 session for Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud. The Ravens had several starters out because of injuries, but they were supposed to have one of the deepest rosters in the NFL. Well, where were the reserves? It’s not the end of the season for the Ravens, but it might be time to call up Santa Claus and tell him to possibly cancel Christmas. Whew, this was ugly. Josh Tolentino, columnist What an absolute butt-whooping from the visitors. Both teams were billed as soul-searchers with identical 1-3 records entering the Week 5 contest, but the Texans emerged as the real team with palpable fight. Meanwhile, the Ravens were toppled in the “effort” department from the opening whistle. Even more discouraging, the Ravens committed some of the same mistakes that we’ve seen from this undisciplined group over the first month of the season. The heat meter continues to rise for Zach Orr, the second-year defensive coordinator whose adjustments have failed to reach the field from his depleted group. Some inside the organization will point to injuries for the team’s brutal start to this disappointing season, but the reality is that Baltimore has lacked identity and a defensive backbone dating to the Ravens’ Week 1 collapse at Buffalo. Sam Cohn, reporter Players and coaches spent all week imbuing themselves with the confidence that they could beat the Texans even without eight regular starters, including their two-time NFL Most Valuable Player at quarterback. “I know it sounds good up here, me saying it,” a self-aware defensive coordinator Zach Orr said, “but we have to go do it on Sunday.” That they did not. Baltimore’s defense looked lost. Its offense was almost laughably outplayed. Cornerback Jaire Alexander nearly fought a pack of Texans by himself. Mark Andrews spiked his helmet after handing over an interception — this team’s third helmet spike in as many weeks. ’Twas a cocktail that left the Ravens with one of the worst losses in franchise history. Ravens vs. Texans, October 5, 2025 | PHOTOS Sam Jane, reporter If you thought things were going poorly for the Ravens before Week 5, the concern levels are at an all-time high following the one of the worst losses in franchise history. Every unit of coach John Harbaugh’s team was outclassed Sunday. Baltimore’s defense never forced a punt or a turnover against the 25th-best offense in the NFL. The Ravens’ offense reached the red zone just twice and Cooper Rush threw two interceptions. Sure, the Ravens were missing several starters, but Sunday’s effort was one of the worst of Harbaugh’s tenure. Not a great sign for a team that was already 1-3 and playing in a critical game for its postseason hopes. C.J. Doon, editor This feels like the end of an era for the Ravens and John Harbaugh. Yes, Baltimore was missing a laundry list of talented players, including stars Lamar Jackson, Kyle Hamilton, Roquan Smith and Marlon Humphrey. Not including Nnamdi Madubuike, who is already out for the season with a neck injury, the Ravens were without a group of players with a combined 20 Pro Bowl appearances Sunday. The Ravens put five rookies on the field on defense. Any NFL team would struggle to overcome that. But it’s how lethargic, sloppy and uninspired the Ravens looked Sunday that is most concerning. And it’s not as if they were blown out by an elite team. Houston entered 1-3, too, and was 0-8 in Baltimore. After struggling to eclipse 20 points thus far this season, the Texans cruised to 24 first-half points and scored on their first eight possessions before C.J. Stroud exited the game with a career-high 85% completion rate. That’s after Ravens defensive coordinator Zach Orr vowed this week to increase the physicality and “hit people harder” in the search for more turnovers and more stops. Instead, the Ravens offered little resistance. Having rookie linebacker Teddye Buchanan wear the green dot to relay the defensive signals certainly didn’t help the communication issues that have long plagued this team. And so much for Derrick Henry being able to carry the load on offense. Baltimore barely got any time on the field because of how soft the defense played, but when it did, Henry had no room to run behind what’s been a disappointing offensive line. Cooper Rush didn’t help matters by throwing three interceptions, either, though Mark Andrews and Rashod Bateman didn’t do him any favors. From top to bottom on all three levels, this was a complete and total failure. Now the only thing Ravens fans should care about is who’s left to pick up the pieces on Monday. With how sparse the crowd looked at M&T Bank Stadium, maybe they’ve already given up. Tim Schwartz, editor Worst home loss in Ravens regular-season history? It sure feels like it. With their backs against the wall, they looked completely and utterly lost and showed no lessons learned from their first four games. This feels like rock bottom, but with the Rams coming into town next week, perhaps there’s more earth to move to find a new low. Baltimore has owned the Texans historically; they made the Ravens look like a JV team. Something’s gotta give here. Defensive coordinator Zach Orr said on Wednesday, “This is a test. And in life, you’re going to get tested. You’re either going to step up or turn it down.” They didn’t turn it down. They turned it off. Pathetic. Bennett Conlin, editor This was embarrassing. I picked the Ravens to lose this week because of their injury situation, but Sunday’s showing was much worse than I imagined. Baltimore looked like a team ready to overhaul its staff and pick first in the NFL draft, not contend for a Super Bowl title. Injuries obviously hurt this team. Not having Jackson is almost impossible to quantify, and Baltimore’s defense was without its four Pro Bowlers from 2024. That’s significant. But to not put up a real fight at home against what was a 1-3 Houston team outside the playoff picture is inexcusable, injuries or not. The Ravens still had Derrick Henry, Zay Flowers, Nate Wiggins and Kyle Van Noy, among others. If the Ravens can’t rally and make a late-season push as guys return from injuries, they’ll need to make significant organizational changes this offseason (or even midseason) to avoid wasting Jackson’s prime. Sunday’s performance was inexcusable. Have a news tip? Contact sports editor C.J. Doon at cdoon@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/CJDoon. View the full article Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.