Ravens dig into their bag of tricks to topple Texans
LOS ANGELES: Baltimore scored a touchdown following a fake punt and Alex Collins rushed for another as the Ravens defeated the Houston Texas 23-16 on Monday night. The Ravens improved to 6-5 on the season and have back-to-back wins for the first time since the opening two weeks of the season. Baltimore’s Joe Flacco completed 20 of 31 passes for 131 yards and had a key 25-yard run on the game’s final possession. Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs came up with a clutch sack of Texans quarterback Tom Savage late in the fourth quarter that resulted in a fumble being recovered by Baltimore defensive tackle Willie Henry. The Ravens had three takeaways, giving them an NFL-leading 26 on the season. Savage, filling in for the injured Deshaun Watson, was 22 of 37 for 252 yards with two interceptions. Running back Javorius Allen scored the touchdown off the fake punt. Baltimore surprised the Texans when Sam Koch threw a 22-yard pass to Chris Moore on the fake punt early in the second quarter. Two plays later, Allen tied the game on a 10-yard run.
Houston pulled to within 20-16 on a 37-yard field goal by Ka’imi Fairbairn with 8:36 remaining in the game. The Texans were driving again on their next possession, but Suggs sacked Savage, causing the ball to come loose. That led to a 49-yard field goal by Justin Tucker that gave Baltimore the lead 23-16. Ravens safety Anthony Levine sealed the win with the first interception of his career with just over two minutes left. Baltimore had to overcome a huge performance by Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who caught seven passes for 125 yards. — AFP