National Football League
Preview
Baltimore at Houston
When: 4:30 PM ET, Wednesday, December 25, 2024
Where: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas

First, it was Stefon Diggs. Now, it's Tank Dell.

Who's C.J. Stroud going to throw to for the rest of the Houston Texans' season?

If Stroud and Houston can't figure it out, starting with Wednesday's home game against the Baltimore Ravens, then its postseason stay might be shorter than a lot of people thought back in September.

Already short-handed at wide receiver after Diggs tore his ACL in Week 8, the AFC South champs suffered a major loss in Saturday's 27-19 defeat at Kansas City when Dell dislocated his knee and tore his ACL on a 30-yard touchdown catch.

Stroud's remaining options behind No. 1 receiver Nico Collins (60 catches, 909 yards, six TDs) are John Metchie III (17 catches) and veteran Robert Woods (16). With Dell and Diggs' combined 98 receptions on the shelf for the season's remainder, the team's second- and third-leading receivers are tight end Dalton Schultz (48) and running back Joe Mixon (33).

"It's not easy to see your brother go down like that after just dealing with a (season-ending) injury last year," Stroud said of Dell.

Houston (9-6) acted quickly to beef up its withering receiving corps by turning to the waiver wire and claiming Diontae Johnson, who has caught 31 passes for 363 yards this year while playing for Carolina and Baltimore.

Johnson was acquired by the Ravens on Oct. 29 and then waived after refusing to enter a 24-19 loss to Philadelphia Dec. 1. Johnson caught only one pass in four games with the Ravens.

The Texans have other injury concerns, too. Safety Jimmie Ward is done for the year with a sprained foot. Starting guard Shaq Mason (knee), starting defensive tackle Folorunso Fatukasi (ankle) and reserve offensive lineman Juice Scruggs (foot) did not practice Sunday through Tuesday and were ruled out. Reserve defensive end Denico Autry (knee) has been a limited participant all week and is questionable.

While Houston tries to pick up the pieces, Baltimore (10-5) aims to gain the edge on Pittsburgh, also 10-5, in the AFC North race. It will hope for help from Kansas City, which plays the Steelers in the first game of Netflix's Christmas Day doubleheader.

The Ravens tied Pittsburgh atop the division Saturday with a 34-17 win in Baltimore behind another balanced, explosive offensive performance. They rolled up 418 total yards with Lamar Jackson throwing for 207 yards and three touchdowns, while Derrick Henry added 162 yards on the ground.

Baltimore wrapped up a playoff spot on Saturday but would love to go into the postseason with a division title and at least one home game in its hip pocket. With Jackson playing at the peak of his game -- he has a team-record 37 touchdown passes -- the Ravens reason to believe they can make a long playoff run.

"Ever since I've been here with Lamar, it just feels like every year he can be the MVP," fullback Patrick Ricard said. "That's just kinda the player he is."

The addition of Henry has helped Jackson become even more efficient and dangerous. Henry already has the second-best season of his career at 1,636 yards and could reach 2,000 for the second time with a great finish.

The Ravens have ruled out wide receiver Nelson Agholor (concussion), running back Justice Hill (concussion) and cornerback Jalyn Armour-Davis (hamstring) after they missed practice Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Wide receiver Zay Flowers (shoulder) and cornerback Tre'Davious White (shoulder) are questionable after being limited participants on Tuesday following missed practices to start the week.

The Ravens own a 10-2 record in the teams' all-time series, which doesn't include two playoff victories. Houston hasn't beaten them since 2014.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W‑L Strk PF PA Home Away Grass Turf OT Div Conf
Baltimore 10-5 W2 30.1 23.3 5-2 5-3 1-3 0-0 - - 6-4
Houston 9-6 L1 23.1 21.8 5-2 4-4 1-2 0-0 - - 7-3
Last Meeting
Baltimore Houston
Date Away Home Tot Rus Pas Tot Rus Pas
1/20/24 HOU 10 BAL 34 352 229 123 213 38 175
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Baltimore L. Jackson 72.7 152 2 0
Houston C. Stroud 57.6 175 0 0
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Baltimore L. Jackson 11 100 9.1 2
Houston D. Singletary 9 22 2.4 0
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Baltimore Z. Flowers 4 41 10.2 0
Houston N. Collins 5 68 13.6 0
Touchdowns Player TD
Baltimore L. Jackson 2
Houston S. Sims 1
Season
Passing Player COMP % YDS TD INT
Baltimore L. Jackson 67.9 3787 37 4
Houston C. Stroud 63.2 3492 19 11
Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD
Baltimore D. Henry 278 1636 5.9 13
Houston J. Mixon 231 967 4.2 11
Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD
Baltimore Z. Flowers 71 1016 14.3 4
Houston N. Collins 60 909 15.2 6
Touchdowns Player TD
Baltimore D. Henry 15
Houston J. Mixon 12