Rookie Blacklock ejected
Texans rookie defensive tackle Ross Blacklock was ejected in the fourth quarter for unnecessary roughness because of shoving after the whistle.
By losing his cool, Blacklock drew the ire of veteran defensive end J.J. Watt.
“It’s stupid,” Watt said. “It’s selfish. It was a stupid play. I’ve spoken to Ross before and so it pisses me off.”
Under NFL rules, Blacklock was escorted off the field into the locker room with a team official.
“It’s very dumb to hurt your team in that type of setting for no reason,” Watt said.
Blacklock had one tackle in the loss to the Ravens.
O’Brien kneels with players for anthem
Several Texans players and coach Bill O’Brien took a knee during the national anthem before kickoff.
O’Brien said earlier this year he planned to take a knee with his players, if they wanted him to, in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and against police brutality and systemic racism. In the opener against Kansas City, the Texans stayed in the locker room for the anthem.
Wide receiver Kenny Stills, one of the most outspoken players on social justice issues in the NFL, also took a knee, as he did for every game last season.
Among the other Texans players who took a knee: quarterback Deshaun Watson, outside linebacker Jacob Martin, cornerback Lonnie Johnson Jr., safety Justin Reid, cornerback Keion Crossen, safety Michael Thomas, linebacker Tyrell Adams, running back C.J. Prosise, safety Eric Murray, running back David Johnson, cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, tight ends Jordan Akins and Darren Fells, wide receivers Keke Coutee, DeAndre Carter, Brandin Cooks and Randall Cobb, outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus and running back Buddy Howell.
“I mean, guys have their own opinion and I just felt that it was right for me personally and then for my family and the AfricanAmerican community,” Watson said. “So, that’s why I did it.”
WR Fuller injures right hamstring
Will Fuller is arguably the Texans’ most dangerous deep threat. He’s also prone to injuries.
Now, the wide receiver is dealing with an apparent right hamstring injury. He got his right hamstring stretched out by a trainer on the sideline during the game. He was on and off the field and had no targets after catching eight passes for 112 yards in the season-opening loss to the Chiefs.
“Of course, Will just got to continue to do the right treatment and get on the field and he’s going to do that,” Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson said. “Every time he’s on the field, he’s a big factor. He’s a big part of this offense, so just making sure that he is staying healthy and just keep pushing forward.”
‘Very weird’ having no fans at NRG Stadium
The Texans played in front of no fans at NRG Stadium for the first time in franchise history because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The franchise is optimistic that it will be allowed to host as many as 15,000 fans for an Oct. 4 game against the Minnesota.
In a loss to the Ravens on Sunday, it was a quiet, sterile environment that lacked much in the way of a home-field advantage.
“It was very weird,” defensive end J.J. Watt said. “As an athlete, as a competitor, did it make a difference in how you play? No. But you can definitely tell just the atmosphere, the excitement, the energy is definitely different.”
Added quarterback Deshaun Watson: “That’s definitely something that people feed off of in a football game, but we can’t let that factor into the game and what we’re doing on the field, because once we step on the field everything else is kind of blocked out. But, yeah, we miss our fans for sure.”
Johnson inactive; Prosise promoted
Texans running back Duke Johnson was inactive after spraining his left ankle last week in Kansas City
The Texans promoted former Seahawks running back C.J. Prosise from the practice squad, but he had no touches.
In other injuries, fullback Cullen Gillaspia was evaluated for a concussion, and offensive tackle Tytus Howard went into the blue medical tent to have his right leg examined and was briefly replaced by Roderick Johnson before returning.