Defense is key to competing with Ravens
Forcing and converting mistakes will be crucial in a battle of two weak offenses
The Texans’ nationally televised Monday night game at Baltimore would be a good time to improve a pass defense that has been wretched in their six defeats.
Turnover differential usually tells the tale of winning and losing, and that’s the case with the Texans, too, but there’s another telling statistic that deserves to be analyzed.
The Texans have surrendered 22 touchdown passes, tying Denver for the most in the NFL going into this weekend’s games.
In their six losses, the Texans have allowed 18 touchdown passes. In their four victories, they have given up four, including three in the Sunday victory over Arizona.
So, pass defense — along with the pass rush — goes hand in hand with whether the Texans win or lose.
“I think it’s a combination,” coach Bill O’Brien said about the rush and coverage. “In this league, with the rules the way they are, you can’t touch anybody after 5 yards, and if you’re not getting a pass rush and you allow the quarterback to hold the ball, it’s going to be hard to cover guys.
“I think if you look at the tape and you look at the times when we’ve combined cover-
age and rush, we’ve been in good shape, but when we haven’t had a rush, it’s been tough to hang on back there.”
The Texans got to Blaine Gabbert, the Cardinals’ third-string quarterback, two times, with both sacks by Jadeveon Clowney.
They have had 11 sacks in their four victories and 14 in their six defeats.
“We’ve got to stop the run, and we can’t give up big plays (in the passing game),” cornerback Johnathan Joseph said. “We’ve got to make more big plays. We’ve got to create turnovers.
“Whoever’s defense shows up best will probably win the game.”
‘A huge challenge’
The Ravens (5-5) have the superior defense and are coming off their third shutout of the year against Green Bay — the Packers’ first at Lambeau Field since 2006. They are sixth in defense, including 26th against the run and second against the pass.
The Texans (4-6) have to improve defensively to have a chance to win a second consecutive game
and remain in the AFC wild-card race.
The defense is going against Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, who has struggled along with the Ravens’ offense.
Baltimore ranks 31st in offense — 13th rushing and 32nd passing. Flacco has nine touchdown passes, 11 interceptions and a 74.4 rating. His average per attempt is 5.44 yards compared to Tom Savage’s 5.9.
“He’s got a big arm, and he can make the big play,” defensive end D.J. Reader said. “We’ve got to stop the run and get after him. That’s going to be a huge challenge for us.”
It is going to be a huge
challenge for the Texans’ pass protectors to keep the Ravens off Savage. They had six sacks and five turnovers at Green Bay.
In their four victories, the Texans have committed four turnovers, and they’ve forced 11, making them plus-7.
In their six losses, they have three takeaways and 15 giveaways, making them minus-12.
Exerting pressure
Success or failure Monday night will start with the Texans’ front seven. They need players besides Clowney to get after Flacco. If they can’t hit him, a pure pocket passer, they have to at least rush him enough to disrupt his timing with his receivers.
Clowney, who has a career-high eight sacks and is on a pace for 13, needs help. Benardrick McKinney, Brennan Scarlett and Ufomba Kamalu have two each. They need to step up as pass rushers.
Of course, the Texans miss J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus, but they won’t get sympathy from the Ravens, who also have been hit hard by injuries.
“He plays very, very hard on Sundays no matter who’s out there,” O’Brien said of Clowney. “He plays with a great sense of urgency, and he tries to really make a play on every play. He has a real knack for going to the ball.
“He can chase plays from behind, it’s hard to run at him. We move him around, and he plays with a real sense of urgency.”
To stop the Ravens and provide the Texans’ offense with good field position with a few turnovers, the pass rush can’t be a one-man band. Clowney is the conductor, and it’s time for his teammates to join the orchestra.