BALTIMORE -- For three-plus quarters, the Texans were in exactly the kind of game they expected against the Baltimore Ravens. It was physical. It was back-and-forth. It was right within their grasp.
But Sunday’s game at M&T Bank Stadium slipped away from the visiting Texans in the fourth quarter. They were outscored 13-0, converted only three first downs and were unable to put together a drive longer than 37 yards. A close game turned into a 29-14 loss, and the Texans' record now sits at 3-3 after a 3-1 start to the season.
"I liked the type of game we were in," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "(But) when it counted most, with about 10 minutes left in the game, with a 19-14 game, we quit making plays and they started making plays."
In the Texans’ second consecutive game – and loss – without wide receiver 
“I played terrible,” Foster said. “I didn’t play a good game; it was obvious. That will never happen again. I played a bad game. It doesn’t matter what the variables are; I played a bad game. As a football player, I didn’t bring my A-game.”
The Texans had season lows in points and yards (293) against the Ravens, who improved to 4-1 and first place in the AFC North. Houston led briefly in the third quarter after a touchdown pass from
"We’ve got a good football team, but they don’t give you a damn thing in this league," Kubiak said. "You’ve got to line up and make big plays to win. When crunch time came in, they made them, we didn’t.”
The Texans drove into Ravens territory seven times but only came away with points twice. Their first drive stalled at the Baltimore 42-yard line after Schaub threw behind tight end
Quarterback Joe Flacco went 7-of-8 for 82 yards on the Ravens’ first drive. The Texans stopped Baltimore on three consecutive runs from the one-yard line, but that was negated by two unnecessary roughness penalties on defensive
Texans defensive end
Jamison sacked Flacco again on the next series, forcing a fumble and recovering it inside the 20-yard line. Three plays later, Texans running back
Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff, who finished with five field goals and seven touchbacks on eight kickoffs, made a 43-yard field goal near the end of the first half. He added a 48-yarder early in the third quarter to put the Ravens up 13-7.
The Texans responded with a six-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Schaub started it with passes of 20 yards to
It was short-lived lead. Flacco threw a 51-yard bomb to wide receiver Torrey Smith, who beat cornerback
Flacco started the Ravens’ next drive with a 56-yard pass down the left sideline to Anquan Boldin, who made the catch just past a leaping
On the next drive, former Texans safety Bernard Pollard broke up a well-thrown pass intended for Foster on third-and-eight from the Baltimore 38. The Texans punted and didn’t convert another first down the rest of the way.
Schaub was sacked and stripped on third-and-three from the Houston 21 with 7:27 remaining to bring on the punt team. The Ravens went up 26-14 three minutes later on a four-yard touchdown run by Ricky Williams, which was set up by a 27-yard run by Ray Rice.
The Texans turned the ball over on downs with 3:34 remaining on a play that initially was ruled a first down. Ravens head coach John Harbaugh challenged a catch by Jones on fourth-and-four from the Houston 26, and officials ruled the pass incomplete after a replay review, saying that Jones didn’t get both feet inbounds.
Cundiff tacked on a 40-yard field goal, and Foster was stopped for one yard on fourth-and-two from the Houston 28 to effectively end the game.
Schaub finished 21-of-37 for 220 yards and one touchdown in the loss. Flacco was 20-of-33 for 305 yards and an interception. Boldin had a game-high 132 receiving yards, while Rice ran for 101 yards on 23 carries (4.4 average). Jones led the Texans with 76 receiving yards on four catches.
