The Baltimore Ravens scored 10 points off Tom Savage turnovers and defeated the Houston Texans by seven, 23-16, on Monday night. It doesn't take a Fields Medal winner to do that math.
"He can't turn it over," coach Bill O'Brien said of his quarterback. "I thought he did some good things, but we turned it over too many times on offense. They weren't all his fault, but the interceptions, we have to do a better job there. We've got to block better, run better, and do a lot of things better. That's what we are going to try to do."
Savage threw a first-half interception leading to a Baltimore TD on a short field, which turned the game around after giving the Ravens their first lead of the day. As the Texans were driving into Baltimore territory with less than five minutes remaining, Savage was strip-sacked by Terrell Suggs, which led to a field goal that extended the lead to seven points. A terrible Savage interception on the final Houston possession iced the contest.
"You're not going to win any games when you turn it over and you don't get any takeaways. You're not going to win any games," O'Brien said.
Savage finished 22 of 37 for 252 with zero touchdowns, two interceptions, the fumble and two sacks. The best thing he did was target DeAndre Hopkins, who had seven catches on 10 targets for 125 yards -- several of those snags come on body contortions no human should be able to pull off.
After the game, Savage vented his frustration to reporters in the locker room.
"I'm really frustrated, to be honest with you," he said. "Really, there are no words for it. I don't go out there to throw picks, but it's called the NFL. We just need to do better."
At 4-7, the Texans' playoff hopes are all but shot, and Savage is simply holding the fort until electric playmaker Deshaun Watson returns next season.
