Lamar Jackson passed for 169 yards in his first game with a new five-year contract, Justice Hill ran for two touchdowns and the Baltimore Ravens opened the season with a 25-9 victory Sunday over the visiting Houston Texans.
Jackson completed 17 of 22 passes with one interception and ran for 38 more yards with a lost fumble. J.K. Dobbins had 22 yards and a touchdown on eight carries before departing early in the second half with a possible Achilles injury.
Baltimore’s Zay Flowers had nine catches for 78 yards in his first NFL game, while Odell Beckham Jr. had two catches for 37 yards in his Ravens debut.
In his first NFL game, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud passed for 242 yards and was sacked five times. The No. 2 overall draft pick out of Ohio State this past April was 28-of-44 passing and lost a fumble.
Dameon Pierce had 38 yards rushing on 11 carries for the Texans, while Nico Collins and Robert Woods each had six catches for a combined 137 yards.
Jackson was intercepted by Houston’s Steven Nelson on Baltimore’s second drive, but used the third drive to move the Ravens 58 yards in nine plays with Dobbins scoring on a 4-yard TD run for a 7-0 lead.
Stroud’s first taste of NFL play was rocky. He completed his first NFL pass to himself for no gain when his throw was batted out of the air and rebounded into his arms. Houston gained just 4 yards of total offense on its first three drives.
Stroud settled in to guide drives of 67 and 68 yards that ended in Ka’imi Fairbairn field goals of 35 and 38 yards in the final four minutes of the first half to trail 7-6.
On their first possession of the second half, the Ravens went 71 yards on eight plays with Hill scoring on a 4-yard run and Gus Edwards adding the 2-point conversion run for a 15-6 lead.
The Texans followed by turning the ball over on downs for the second time, and the Ravens worked a five-play, 42-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard score from Hill and a 22-6 lead with 5:21 remaining in the third quarter.
After the Texans’ M.J. Stewart recovered Jackson’s fumble at the Ravens’ 32-yard line, Houston could only muster a 36-yard field goal to pull within 22-9 with 13:47 remaining. The Ravens added Justin Tucker’s 39-yard field goal with 4:10 remaining.
Baltimore offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley and center Tyler Linderbaum departed in the fourth quarter with leg injuries.
–Field Level Media
