What a drag
Quarterback’s turnovers doom team’s chances for a comeback
Problems in the red zone and turnovers stall the Texans’ offense.
BALTIMORE — Texans quarterback Tom Savage kept staring over the middle. He sorely wanted to connect with wide receiver Bruce Ellington.
That plan went awry, though, as Savage inexplicably made an ill-advised throw into heavy traffic on third down during the second quarter of an eventual 23-16 defeat Monday night at M&T Bank Stadium.
The outcome was predictable and costly: an interception for Baltimore Ravens safety Tony Jefferson that directly led to a touchdown that provided the home team with a 14-7 lead.
Savage was later intercepted in the fourth quarter while trying to rally the Texans for a comeback. It was the first career interception for Ravens safety Anthony Levine as Savage threw into coverage while trying to hit tight end C.J. Fiedorowicz.
It was just that kind of night for Savage. He committed three turnovers on two interceptions and one lost fumble and now has a dozen turnovers this season on five interceptions and seven lost fumbles.
“I’m really frustrated, to be honest with you,” Savage said. “There’s really no words for it. I don’t want to go out there and throw picks. That’s not my goal. I under threw C.J. on the center route. It’s called the NFL. You’re not going to win games turning the ball over.”
Another fumble
One of the final straws for Savage was yet another strip sack that he lost for a fumble in the fourth quarter prior to his final interception.
Instead of driving the Texans downfield, Savage didn’t have the necessary grip and pocket awareness as Ravens outside linebacker Terrell Suggs sacked him and chopped the football out of his hand.
That marked the eighth total fumble of the season for Savage and his NFLhigh seventh lost.
“He can’t turn it over,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said. “They weren’t all his fault, but the interceptions, we have to do a better job there. You’re not going to win any games when you turn it over and you don’t get takeaways.”
Not only did the former backup to injured rookie star Deshaun Watson commit his 10th, 11th and 12th turnovers for the season Monday night as he uncorked his fourth and fifth interceptions of the season, he also struggled to avoid having his passes batted away.
In his fifth start of the season and fourth since Watson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, Savage had four passes deflected at the line of scrimmage. It looked like he was trying to play basketball against Dikembe Mutombo.
Savage completed 22 of 37 passes for 262 yards, but had no touchdown passes and had a substandard 57.5 passer rating. He was sacked twice by Suggs, but hit eight times as he played the majority of the game without left tackle Chris Clark after the veteran blocker left the game with an ankle injury and was replaced by Kendall Lamm.
“Are you talking about the strip sack? I would say if you put a clock on that, he might have had one second to get the ball off,” O’Brien said. “You could have the greatest pocket awareness in the world and you have no chance there. We tried to chip both edges.
“We’re doing everything we can and the guys are playing their butts off, but I wouldn’t put that one on him. I think the interceptions, we have to do a better job. You can’t throw interceptions, and I have to do a better job coaching.”
Red-zone failures defined the Texans’ night as they went 1-for-4 in the zone. Savage repeatedly threw incompletions in close quarters as the lack of efficiency inside the Ravens’ 20-yard line made it more difficult for the Texans to keep up on a night defined by two stout defenses.
Hot start, cold finish
Savage got off to a torrid start, but he cooled off considerably after completing five of his first six throws during the Texans’ opening drive.
During that first-quarter sequence, Savage had a 29-yard completion to Ellington that led to running back Lamar Miller’s 4-yard touchdown run to build a 7-0 early lead. That nine-play, 90-yard drive, which included a 19-yard pass interference penalty on Ravens cornerback Brandon Carr, represented the zenith of the Texans’ offense.
Savage found success while targeting Pro Bowl wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, connecting for six passes for 119 yards on nine targets.
The Texans also picked up three penalties for 50 yards on passes intended for his go-to receiver.
That was the primary success achieved by Savage throwing downfield as the Ravens struggled to contain Hopkins despite their legal and illegal tactics against him.
The Ravens paid a lot of extra attention to Hopkins, especially cornerback Jimmy Smith. However, they were still unable to slow him down for the most part.
Savage just couldn’t capitalize enough on a matchup clearly won by Hopkins.
“They’re a good defense,” Hopkins said. “You can’t take anything away from those guys. Great coaches, great scheme, great players. Their statistic is what it is for a reason.”
Ultimately, Savage proved unable to avoid turnovers.
His mistakes prevented the Texans from claiming a winnable road game as they fell to 4-7 for the season and all but mathematically eliminated from contending for a third consecutive trip to the playoffs.
It was an extremely ugly night for the former fourth-round draft pick from Pitt.
Despite multiple prime opportunities to win the game, he was outdueled by Ravens Super Bowl winning quarterback Joe Flacco.
Flacco was far from perfect, but, unlike Savage, he never turned the ball over and took care of the football.
“Well, I threw two picks and lost one fumble,” Savage said. “That’s how I played.”