The Houston Texans have fought through adversity this season in the form of serious knee injuries to star wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell that will force both men to miss the rest of the season.
Now, the team seems to be sagging at the worst time of the year after back-to-back losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens, two of the AFC’s true Super Bowl contenders.
The loss to the Ravens, which took place on Christmas Day, was particularly ugly, as they fell by the final score of 31-2, and Ben Maller didn’t hold back his thoughts about the performance.
“‘Wheels fell off’ is what it says…They just had no fight,” Maller said. “It was a gutless effort. What I saw was a soft football team.”
“On the Maller Misery Index for the Houston Texans: ‘Wheels fell off’ is what it says…They just had no fight. It was a gutless effort. What I saw was a soft football team.”
🎙️@benmaller pic.twitter.com/oyAv3VPm86
— FOX Sports Radio (@FoxSportsRadio) December 26, 2024
In this game, Houston allowed the Ravens to collect a whopping 251 rushing yards, with 147 of them coming from Derrick Henry and 87 more from quarterback Lamar Jackson.
Jackson attempted just 15 passes and completed 10 of them for 168 yards and two touchdowns, but given Baltimore’s overall performance, his best effort as a passer wasn’t exactly needed.
Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud, meanwhile, completed just 17 of his 31 pass attempts and had no touchdown and one interception while getting sacked five times.
Many considered the Texans to be a dark horse contender in the AFC when this season started, but now, even though they will most certainly win the AFC South, they have the look of a team that is running on fumes.
They will close out their regular season on Jan. 5 with a road game versus the Tennessee Titans.