The Houston Texans did one of their job on Saturday, stopping Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens' passing attack, holding them to just 152 yards. They forgot they had to do more than just that one job, however, as Jackson still had four total touchdowns, and had nearly as many rushing yards (100) as he did passing yards (152).
The Ravens didn't do anything different than expected. They threw short routes, ran a lot, and ground out the clock, just as they were expected to do. In response, the Houston Texans didn't do anything to keep up. It may be due to the fact that the Texans just didn't have the coaching or the talent needed to compete, that's very possible, but losing to the Ravens isn't something to be ashamed of.
They may be the best team in the AFC after all, and will now go on to host the AFC Championship game in their home stadium. Who they play is going to be a toss-up, as it's either the Kansas City Chiefs or the Buffalo Bills, both feature a quarterback every bit as good as Lamar Jackson.
But for the Ravens to win either game, they have to again drag the Chiefs or Bills into deep water and make them struggle to keep their heads afloat by constantly running the ball down their throats and keeping their offenses off the field.
For the Texans, there was little they could do to survive that onslaught. The team has had issues all year at certain points, and those issues popped up in this game. The lack of a running game was on full display and it wasn't due to their running backs, but their offensive line. Without their running game, it was too easy to key on C.J. Stroud and keep him in check all game.
The Texans didn't give up any sacks, and on the flip side of things, they got to Jackson and sacked him all day. The problem is that every time it felt like the Ravens were on the verge of being out of a drive, they would just let Jackson run, and for whatever reason the Texans never had a spy on him in those moments. Allowing Jackson to reset the drives and give his team momentum.
The Texans just couldn't keep up with the Ravens and they were outclassed by a better team. That's all there is to it, but while it's the end of the season for the Texans, it's not the end of this era of Texans football by a longshot.