Houston Texans fans have been waiting all year for this moment.
DeMeco Ryans leads the Texans to M&T Bank Stadium to play the Baltimore Ravens to kickoff the 2023 NFL season. For Houston fans, having a fan favorite, who is a dynamic defensive coordinator in his own right, lead the team after three seasons of futility is exhilarating.
Buy Texans TicketsHaving a new franchise quarterback to begin his career alongside Ryans is also cause for excitement. C.J. Stroud makes his Texans debut at the site where his new coach played his last game with Houston in the 2011 AFC divisional.
How to watch
Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens — Sunday, Sept. 10, 12:00 p.m. CT
TV channel: KHOU-TV
Live stream: FuboTV
Radio: Sports Radio 610 (KILT-AM), Mega 101 (KLOL-FM) (Marc Vandermeer & Andre Ware)
Location: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md.
Forecast: Thunderstorm, 78 degrees, 3 mph wind (indoors)
Follow the @TheTexansWire and the crew (@therealmarklane, @BigSargeSportz, @chrisnallsnfl @JohnHCrumpler)
Pregame
LT Laremy Tunsil took the field to check out the rainy conditions in pre-game. The footage appears to show a drizzle.
The Texans released their inactives, and there weren’t too many surprises. RB Dare Ogunbowale, who was questionable on Friday’s injury report, will be inactive.
Houston’s offensive line has no-brainers with Tunsil at left tackle and Shaq Mason at right guard. Plugging the holes will be rookie Jarrett Patterson at center while Josh Jones takes left guard and George Fant is at right tackle.
First quarter
15:00 — Baltimore will receive the opening kick.
12:14 — Stroud’s first NFL completion is to himself for one yard.
11:41 — Stroud completes a pass for no gain to RB Dameon Pierce on third-and-6 from the Houston 42-yard line.
11:05 — The Ravens ran into P Ty Zentner to incur a 5-yard penalty on fourth-and-6.
10:59 — With a fourth-and-1 from the Texans’ 47, Ryans decided to go for it. Ravens OLB Patrick Queen sacked Stroud for an 11-yard loss.
6:39 — Stroud hit WR Tank Dell for nine yards on third-and-13 from the Houston 22. However, a holding call on Tunsil pushed it back 10 yards, and the ensuing completion to WR Noah Brown for seven yards was not enough.
1:20 — RB J.K. Dobbins rushes for a 4-yard touchdown. K Justin Tucker’s extra point is good. The Ravens went 58 yards in eight plays, taking 4:28 off the clock. 7-0, Ravens
0:11 — On third-and-7 from the Houston 28-yard line, Stroud hits TE Dalton Schultz for a 1-yard loss. Three-and-out.
Second quarter
13:03 — On third-and-10 from the Houston 42, S Jalen Pitre forces Jackson to throw the ball away, which then compels the officials to ding Baltimore with intentional grounding.
11:47 — Houston picks up its initial first down of the game as Stroud hits WR Robert Woods for 13 yards on third-and-2 from the Texans’ 24.
10:23 — Stroud finds Woods again for the line to gain on third-and-5 from the Texans’ 42.
8:12 — Stroud hits Woods once more for seven yards on third-and-4 from the Ravens’ 47.
4:45 — On third-and-5 from the Ravens’ 16-yard line, WR Noah Brown takes a swing pass for a 1-yard loss.
4:00 — K Ka’imi Fairbairn nails a 35-yard field goal. The Texans went 67 yards in 15 plays, taking 8:54 off the clock. 7-3, Ravens
2:04 — Jackson was hit as he threw by Pitre on third-and-9 from the Baltimore 44. The Texans will have one more shot to put points on the board, although they are out of timeouts.
1:08 — Stroud hits WR Tank Dell for a 10-yard gain on third-and-7 from the Houston 34.
0:25 — On a third-and-15 (due to Tunsil’s false start) from the Ravens’ 42, Stroud goes deep right looking for Dell and the pass falls incomplete. However, a roughing the passer call on DT Travis Jones gives Houston a first-and-10 at the Baltimore 27.
0:00 — Fairbairn hits a 38-yard field goal. 7-6, Ravens
Halftime
Stats
TEXANS
Stroud: 13/20, 91 yards; 2 carries, 4 yards
Pierce: 6 carries, 26 yards; 1 catch, 0 yards
Woods: 5 catches, 51 yards
RAVENS
Jackson: 7/11, 60 yards, INT; 5 carries 35 yards
Dobbins: 6 carries, 17 yards, TD; 1 catch, 10 yards
Zay Flowers: 3 carries, 29 yards
Third quarter
14:05 — The Texans got the ball to start the second half. On third-and-21 from the Houston 14, Stroud dumped off to Pierce for nine yards, and there was an illegal shift the Ravens declined. Houston fell behind the chains with an 11-yard sack on first down of the drive, which went three-and-out.
13:50 — The Texans declared Pitre out with a chest injury.
9:57 — RB Justice Hill rushes for a 2-yard touchdown. A false start on the successful Tucker extra point compelled the Ravens to try for two. Hill rushed up the middle for a yard. 15-6, Ravens
8:30 — Stroud hits WR Nico Collins for 15 yards on third-and-16 from the Texans’ 27-yard line.
7:40 — Houston decides to go for it. Pierce takes the handoff and is stuffed for no gain on fourth-and-1 from the Houston 42.
6:33 — CB Tavierre Thomas knocks the ball out from Jackson on first-and-10 from the Texans’ 26. However, the Ravens fell on top of it. DT Hassan Ridgeway was injured on the play.
5:24 — Hill rushes for a 2-yard touchdown. Tucker extra point is good. 22-6, Ravens
4:24 — On third-and-2 from the Houston 33-yard line, Stroud hits Collins for a 14-yard gain.
2:20 — On third-and-6 from the Baltimore 38, Jones gets dinged for holding, backing up Houston 10 yards. A Stroud-to-Woods 9-yard gain is nullified.
1:51 — Stroud throws incomplete looking for Woods.
0:53 — Ridgeway is questionable with a calf injury.
0:00 — Houston extends the third quarter by an untimed down thanks to a Ravens face mask. On first-and-goal from the Ravens’ 8-yard line, MLB Roquan Smith took down Stroud for an 11-yard loss.
Fourth quarter
13:50 — Fairbairn hits a 36-yard field goal. 22-9, Ravens
12:29 — On third-and-9 from the Ravens’ 26, Jackson hits Flowers on a screen for 17 yards.
9:30 — Stroud hits Collins for 26 yards on third-and-9 from Houston’s 21. Fant was injured on the play.
4:14 — Tucker hits a 39-yard field goal. 25-9, Ravens
3:42 — Ryans loses his first challenge of his career as he takes a chance on a Woods possible completion. Ruling on the field was incomplete, and that call was upheld.
2:04 — Stroud throws an incomplete pass looking for Brown on fourth-and-13 from the Ravens’ 48-yard line.
0:00 — The Ryans era starts 0-1. There were encouraging aspects despite the loss.
