2 winners & 3 losers from Texans embarrassing loss to Ravens in Week 17

The Houston Texans were thoroughly embarrassed on Christmas Day, losing to the Baltimore Ravens 31-2.

It was the second loss since Saturday, both to playoff teams. While Houston was able to hang with the Kansas City Chiefs last weekend, this one was never a contest. Baltimore stormed out to an early lead and Houston's offense never found a rhythm.

Looking back on such a game is never easy but we do that anyway by identifying players who stood out as winners and losers in Week 17.

Loser: Joe Mixon, RB

After recording 100 yards in four consecutive games earlier this season, Joe Mixon has had just two outings with 100 yards in the past seven games. He's now gone three weeks in a row with fewer than 60 yards — and was held under 30 yards for the third time in the past five games.

Baltimore held him to 26 yards on nine attempts, which is an average of just 2.9 per carry. No one on offense was great, but this is becoming a concerning trend for the veteran back.

Winner: Will Anderson, Jr., DE

Baltimore scored a touchdown on an eight-play drive to open the game and a field goal on a seven-play drive during their second series. Trailing 10-0, Houston needed to find a spark on defense which Will Anderson, Jr. provided.

After Baltimore moved it to midfield on their third drive, Anderson tackled Derrick Henry for a four-yard loss on the first play of the second quarter. He followed that up by stuffing Keaton Mitchell for a six-yard loss on the next play. That led to the first punt of the day from Baltimore.

The Ravens still dominated, but Anderson gave them a brief moment of hope.

Loser: Christian Harris, LB

Houston was without Christian Harris for the first 14 games of the season and they were thrilled to have him back when they took on the Miami Dolphins in Week 15. He's still their best linebacker but on Wednesday, he was guilty of giving up a massive play.

Harris let Baltimore tight end Mark Andrews get past him and gain 67 yards on a catch and run. That set up a touchdown, giving the Ravens a 17-2 lead.

To be fair to Harris, this was one of many examples where Jackson got free from a pass rusher and made a great play. But that's what he does and in order to beat this team, you have to stay disciplined longer than normal. Harris learned what happens when you don't.

Winner: Kamari Lassiter, CB

Houston's offense wasn't getting anything done, so Kamari Lassiter had to step up and put points on the board. After Tommy Townsend pinned the Ravens deep, Lassiter tackled Derrick Henry in the end zone for a safety. That was the second time in a row that Henry was stuffed for a four-yard loss, this time cutting the lead to 10-2 while also getting the ball back for their offense.

Sadly, those were the only points they would score all day.

Loser: C.J. Stroud, QB

It's hard to make excuses for C.J. Stroud. It's true that the offensive line has been an issue. He's also lost Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell for the season. Those factors impact him for sure but his struggles have gone far beyond that.

We saw that on Wednesday as Stroud was off-target throughout the game, missing wide-open targets. His poor play is one of many reasons the Texans went into the half trailing 17-2. He finished 11-of-20 for 121 yards in the first two quarters and was 1-of-7 on third downs.

When they returned for the third quarter, he promptly threw a pick, setting up Lamar Jackson for a long touchdown run, giving his team a 24-2 lead.

Stroud ended the day with 185 yards on 17-of-31 passing and was sacked five times.

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