Challenge fails; Texans left miffed, confused
One of the few pivotal calls in an otherwise stress-free 41-7 victory for the Ravens on Sunday afternoon came in the first quarter.
The Houston Texans faced fourth-and-2 from the Ravens’ 33-yard line in a scoreless game. Quarterback Deshaun Watson targeted wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the end zone, with cornerback Marlon Humphrey in coverage.
Humphrey appeared to bump into Hopkins and impede him from catching the ball before it reached him. The pass fell incomplete, and Texans coach Bill O’Brien challenged for pass interference. This is the first season the NFL has allowed coaches to challenge such plays, with both pass interference calls and noncalls subject to review by instant replay.
After a review, the officials ruled that the call stood and that the Ravens would take over on downs. Had pass interference been called, the Texans would have had a first down at the Ravens’ 1-yard line with an opportunity to score the first points of the game.
“I have no idea. I have no idea what pass interference is anymore,” O’Brien said after the game.
Hopkins posted on Twitter after the game, calling for a change of the NFL’s instant-replay process.
“As a leader in the NFL, we need someone new in New York deciding calls,” Hopkins wrote, about 45 minutes after the game concluded.
Former NFL coach and NBC Sports analyst Tony Dungy tweeted that it was “a terrible non call.”
“Houston should have had the ball at the1 yd line,” he wrote. “This is getting ridiculous.”
Coaches around the NFL have had little success this season challenging pass interference. According to ESPN research, before the Houston review, coaches had lost 32 of their past 33 pass interference challenges, dating to the start of Week 4, a 3.0% success rate. Since Week 3, they are 2-for-41 (4.9%).
“What did I think? Yeah, everyone saw it,” Watson said after the game. “The guy wrapped him around, but they made the call. You have to live with it. You can’t really dwell on it. It definitely could have been a changing point in the game. It’s just one of those calls that didn’t go our way. You have to continue to push forward.”
Tucker misses kick
Ravens kicker Justin Tucker is perfect no more.
Tucker’s 43-yard field-goal attempt in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans hit the uprights and bounced off, his first miss of the season. It broke a streak of 22 straight makes, dating to the 2018 season.
Entering Sunday’s game, Tucker had made all 17 of his field-goal attempts. Two weeks ago against the New England Patriots, Tucker missed his first extra-point attempt of the season.
The Ravens offense received a short field for its first possession after outside linebacker Matthew Judon strip-sacked Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and rookie outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson recovered the ball.
Pierce inactive
Ravens defensive tackle Michael Pierce (ankle) was inactive for Sunday’s game. Pierce did not practice this week after injuring his ankle in last Sunday’s 49-13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Harbaugh on Friday said that Pierce would be a gametime decision. Pierce last missed a game in Week 5 of the 2018 season.
Rookie wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown (ankle) was active after being listed as questionable.
Defensive tackles Domata Peko Sr. and Justin Ellis, whom the Ravens signed this week, were active and made their Ravens debuts. Peko had two tackles and Ellis had three.
Quarterback Trace McSorley, wide receivers Chris Moore (thumb) and Jaleel Scott, cornerback Iman Marshall, guard Ben Powers and defensive end Zach Sieler were also inactive.