Baltimore vs. Houston
Ravens Defense Makes Pivotal Play in 30-9 Win Over Houston as Ray Lewis is Honored
It was only fitting that on the day Ray Lewis was being inducted into the Baltimore Ravens’ Ring of Honor, the defense that he led for so many years made the big play to help turn the game around.
Daryl Smith returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown to put the Ravens ahead as part of a 17-point flurry before halftime, turning the tide in what became a 30-9 win over the Houston Texans, who came into the game at 2-0.
After Smith’s pick-six with 2:49 left before halftime made it 10-6 Baltimore, Tandon Doss then returned a punt back 82 yards for another touchdown to put the Ravens (2-1) up by two scores, and they never looked back for the rest of the day after a dominating second half.
It was a feather in the cap of the defense, especially after starting the season so poorly in Denver, to hold a Texans (2-1) offense that had seven touchdowns in its first two games to just three field goals this afternoon.
“You know, it's hard to evaluate which [was more important],” head coach John Harbaugh said when talking about the defensive and special teams scores before halftime. “I would just say both. Both were huge. It's 14 points – that's what it really boils down to. You're talking about 14 points, and that's a huge difference in the game.”
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The offense got off to a slow start for the second-straight week. It didn’t help that they were playing without running back Ray Rice, who was out with a hip flexor injury. Bernard Pierce, his replacement, ended up with 65 carries and a touchdown on 24 carries in the first game that Rice missed since 2008.
“They played great; there were a lot of motions and shifts that confused us a little bit,” Pierce said, “but at the end of the day, we started pounding, pounding, pounding, and eventually, a little bit gave way."
Quarterback Joe Flacco was 16-of-24 for 171 yards with no touchdowns or interceptions.
But going back to the defense, it was a great performance to hold Houston to 264 total yards after quarterback Matt Schaub came into the game averaging more than 300 yards passing in his first two starts of the season.
After the game, Smith admitted that the egg the defense laid on opening night is still resonating with his teammates.
“You don't ever want to have a performance like that. So, each week, we're going to concentrate on getting better,” Smith explained. “Each week, we'll grow together, we'll gain more chemistry, we'll learn to trust each other more, and I think we've done that the last two weeks, and we just have to continue to do that."
With Lewis in the house, linebacker Terrell Suggs of course was happy with the win and how all three phases of the game contributed to it.
“We're just here playing football. You know me, I always assess it tomorrow when we look at the film when we go in. But I think this was a great team win,” Suggs said.
The crowd was energized after the flurry of scoring before halftime, so they were ready to welcome Lewis—a two-time Super Bowl champion—into the Ring of Honor.
Lewis did not do his traditional dance that he used to do during player introductions, saying that he had already done that for the last time. But he gave the sold-out crowd at M&T Bank Stadium plenty to cheer about.
“The love that's out there in that stadium and the love that this city has for me and the respect that these players have for me – it's overwhelming,” Lewis told reporters. “It's humbling. It's humbling because I only know what the path chose, and to see it now, to see it now, this is it. This is why you go through all those hard times.”
In addition to welcoming Lewis back, safety Ed Reed was back in the stadium—but playing for the opposing Houston team after the Ravens parted ways with him in the offseason. Reed had three tackles on the day, and his former teammates were happy to share a moment with him before and after the game.
“There's tremendous respect and love there. Ed will forever be a Raven. He's a Texan now, but he'll forever be a Raven,” Harbaugh said.
GAME RECAP
While the defense had an excellent day, it got off to a slow start, as the Texans took the opening kick and embarked on a drive that took up more than half of the first quarter, but the Ravens were able to stop them at their 9-yard line, forcing Houston to settle for a short field goal to make it 3-0.
Baltimore had just two possessions in the opening quarter, going three-and-out on both occasions. Houston kicked another field goal on the first play of the second quarter to go up 6-0.
After trading punts, the Ravens finally started to move the ball, but the drive stalled at the Houston 10-yard-line. Justin Tucker ended up booting a 28-yard field goal to cut the lead in half at 6-3.
Three plays into the next drive is when Smith stepped in front of a Schaub pass intended for tight end Owen Daniels, returning the pick 37 yards for a touchdown to put Baltimore on top, 10-6.
The following Houston drive came to a halt when Haloti Ngata sacked Schaub, forcing a 3rd and long. After a run that went for a loss, Shane Lechler punted 58 yards to Doss, who had the 82-yard return down the Ravens sideline to make it 17-6.
After the defensive and special teams scores, the offense got into the mix the next time they touched the ball. Flacco engineered a 10-play drive to start the second half that ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Pierce to put Baltimore ahead 24-9. Two Tucker field goals in the fourth quarter brought the score to the 30-9 final.
UP NEXT
After going 2-0 at home after the loss at Denver, Baltimore hits the road again for a game at Buffalo in Week 4. The Bills will go into that game at 1-2 after a 27-20 loss at the New York Jets today.