'Little Off': How One Failed Trick Play For Texans Set Tone In Second Half Against Ravens

One play in the second half for the Houston Texans set the tone for the final 15 minutes in their loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

There will be a handful of plays that factored into the Houston Texans' 34-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Divisional Round early Saturday evening. 

One play, however, might be the moment when fans realized it was over. 

Following a Lamar Jackson 15-yard touchdown run to break a 10-10 tie, Houston had a chance to respond and keep momentum trending upward. C.J. Stroud connected twice for first-down gains. Devin Singletary picked up another set of downs with a 16-yard run. 

But on first-and-10 at Baltimore's 39, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik dialed up a passing play set to catch Mike MacDonald's defense slipping. A flea-flicker pass started with a Xavier Hutchinson run. 

Then came a pitch to John Metchie III for what seemed to be a reverse. 

Then came a toss back to Stroud, who at that point saw the pressure swallowing him up behind the line of scrimmage, thus forcing an ill-timed pass back to Hutchinson for a loss of five yards. 

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

At that point, Baltimore regained its defensive enigma and never took its foot off the throttle. The Texans would settle for a punt three plays later after being pushed out of field goal range. 

“I definitely had a lot of confidence in that play,” said Hutchinson postgame to reporters in Baltimore. “I knew that was going to be a big play if we just executed it right and we were just off by a little.”

A "little" goes a long way. The slight timing gave Ravens defensive back Geno Stone a chance to recover and close the gap. 

It gave Ronald Darby a second wind to cover Nico Collins downfield.

The Texans had this Flea Flicker Throwback Screen set up…

Unbelievable play by Geno Stone! pic.twitter.com/PiznSYgus0

— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) January 20, 2024

It gave the Ravens a chance to pounce up the middle and force their way past offensive linemen Shaq Mason and Michael Deiter. 

Roquan Smith ran full speed toward Hutchinson and held in space until a sea of black jerseys walloped Hutchinson for a loss. After that, Baltimore pushed on to cushion the lead. 

“They made a play, yeah, just made a play,” Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud said. 

Jackson, the favorite to win this year's MVP, kept the good times rolling with his 12-play, 93-yard drive capped off with a 15-yard touchdown to Isaiah Likely. He tacked on a fourth score with a eight-yard scamper in the fourth quarter to push Baltimore's lead to three possessions. 

Stroud, who threw for 175 yards, faced pressure throughout the afternoon, a mirror from Week 1's 25-9 loss in Septemeber. That was Stroud's first start and it ended with five sacks and a fumble. 

In his 17th game, he wasn't sacked, although the Ravens came close more than once. In fact, they came close at least once a drive. Meanwhile, Jackson evaded the pressure in the second half after back-to-back sacks on the Ravens' final drive of the first half. 

Notebook: Texans Foundation Established Despite AFC Divisional Round Exit

No, the pressure from Houston's front seven wasn't the deciding factor away from NRG Stadium. Neither was the flea-flicker that was more so a flick of a flea. 

And it was the moment when the Texans pulled their last card of the bag of tricks. All that was left was the rundown of a clock and a flight home. 

"We accomplished a lot this year," said Texans coach DeMeco Ryans. "We're looking to the future."