Texans look for answers after embarrassing 31-2 home loss to the Ravens

HOUSTON (AP) — Quarterback C.J. Stroud summed up Houston’s performance in an embarrassing 31-2 loss to Baltimore on Wednesday.

“Sometimes you go out there and lay an egg,” Stroud said. “It’s not easy to say that, but that’s what happened. Didn’t play well from the first play to the last.”

The AFC South champion Texans (9-7) managed only a safety as they suffered their most lopsided loss of the season in front of a home crowd that booed them often throughout the second half.

“That’s nothing that we represent, nothing that we talked about all year, all season, all week,” receiver Robert Woods said. “And pretty much it’s just an embarrassment to show up like that, and that’s not the Texans’ way and mentality of playing football and showing up in the first place.”

The Texans allowed a season-high 251 yards rushing on a day the Ravens' Derrick Henry ran for 147 yards and quarterback Lamar Jackson added 87 to pass Michael Vick for the NFL career rushing record for quarterbacks.

“This game comes down to guys making plays and they had two exceptional playmakers on their side in Lamar and Derrick Henry,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “They made plays and that was the game.”

A loss like this is particularly concerning for a team with just one week to prepare before the start of the playoffs. Defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said the problems are not from a lack of effort but rather from an inability to stop making simple mistakes.

“It’s embarrassing,” Anderson said. “That’s not playoff football, and I think everybody in this locker room knows that from the top to the bottom. We have to do a better job and the coaches can do their part, but I feel like as players we have to do our part. The leaders and captains, we have to step up and… we have to hold guys accountable and make sure that everybody’s doing their job.”

Rookie Kamari Lassiter dropped Henry for a 4-yard loss for the safety with about 10 minutes left in the first half to cut the lead to 10-2.

Dameon Pierce then returned the kickoff 45 yards to get the Texans to their 43. But they came away empty when Joe Mixon was stopped on the 1 after grabbing a short pass on fourth-and-3.

Stroud threw for 185 yards, but was sacked five times and threw an interception and Mixon managed just 26 yards rushing as the Texans lost a second straight. They struggled to finish drives in their first game since dynamic receiver Tank Dell sustained a season-ending knee injury in a loss to the Chiefs.

Mixon refused to speak to reporters postgame, but Stroud took the blame for the loss.

“Terrible on my behalf, probably one of my worst games in my whole career,” he said. “Just came out flat, didn’t have any energy. I didn’t lead the offense the way I should have.”

Stroud said he isn’t worried about the team and that wallowing in the loss won’t help anything. So he’s going to do everything he can to help the Texans move on and be better their next time out.

“I’m sure a lot of people in their careers have had this type of game before,” he said. “I’m not going to sit here and act like this is just foreign. But it is necessary to wake you up and that’s what it’s going to do for me and this team.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry, right, is tackled by Houston Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter for a safety during the first half of an NFL football game, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) is tackled by Houston Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter, right, for a safety during the first half of an NFL football game, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (28) catches a pass in front of Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) during the first half of an NFL football game, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud walks off the field after an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud sits on the bench during the second half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — With the start of the New Year squarely behind us, it's once again time for the annual CES trade show to shine a spotlight on the latest tech companies plan on offering in 2026.

The multi-day event, organized by the Consumer Technology Association, kicks off this week in Las Vegas, where advances across industries like robotics, healthcare, vehicles, wearables, gaming and more are set to be on display.

Artificial intelligence will be anchored in nearly everything, again, as the tech industry explores offerings consumers will want to buy. AI industry heavyweight Jensen Huang will be taking the stage to showcase Nvidia's latest productivity solutions, and AMD CEO Lisa Su will keynote to “share her vision for delivering future AI solutions.” Expect AI to come up in other keynotes, like from Lenovo's CEO, Yuanqing Yang.

The AI industry is out in full force tackling issues in healthcare, with a particular emphasis on changing individual health habits to treat conditions — such as Beyond Medicine's prescription app focused on a particular jaw disorder — or addressing data shortages in subjects such as breast milk production.

Expect more unveils around domestic robots too. Korean tech giant LG already has announced it will show off a helper bot named “ CLOiD,” which allegedly will handle a range of household tasks. Hyundai also is announcing a major push on robotics and manufacturing advancements. Extended reality, basically a virtual training ground for robots and other physical AI, is also in the buzz around CES.

In 2025, more than 141,000 attendees from over 150 countries, regions, and territories attended the CES. Organizers expect around the same numbers for this year’s show, with more than 3,500 exhibitors across the floor space this week.

The AP spoke with CTA Executive Chair and CEO Gary Shapiro about what to expect for CES 2026. The conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Well, we have a lot at this year's show.

Obviously, using AI in a way that makes sense for people. We’re seeing a lot in robotics. More robots and humanoid-looking robots than we’ve ever had before.

We also see longevity in health, there’s a lot of focus on that. All sorts of wearable devices for almost every part of the body. Technology is answering healthcare’s gaps very quickly and that’s great for everyone.

Mobility is big with not only self-driving vehicles but also with boats and drones and all sorts of other ways of getting around. That’s very important.

And of course, content creation is always very big.

You are seeing humanoid robots right now. It sometimes works, sometimes doesn’t.

But yes, there are more and more humanoid robots. And when we talk about CES 5, 10, 15, 20 years now, we’re going to see an even larger range of humanoid robots.

Obviously, last year we saw a great interest in them. The number one product of the show was a little robotic dog that seems so life-like and fun, and affectionate for people that need that type of affection.

But of course, the humanoid robots are just one aspect of that industry. There’s a lot of specialization in robot creation, depending on what you want the robot to do. And robots can do many things that humans can’t.

AI is the future of creativity.

Certainly AI itself may be arguably creative, but the human mind is so unique that you definitely get new ideas that way. So I think the future is more of a hybrid approach, where content creators are working with AI to craft variations on a theme or to better monetize what they have to a broader audience.

We’re seeing all sorts of different devices that are implementing AI. But we have a special focus at this show, for the first time, on the disability community. Verizon set this whole stage up where we have all different ways of taking this technology and having it help people with disabilities and older people.

Well, there’s definitely no bubble when it comes to what AI can do. And what AI can do is perform miracles and solve fundamental human problems in food production and clean air and clean water. Obviously in healthcare, it’s gonna be overwhelming.

But this was like the internet itself. There was a lot of talk about a bubble, and there actually was a bubble. The difference is that in late 1990s there were basically were no revenue models. Companies were raising a lot of money with no plans for revenue.

These AI companies have significant revenues today, and companies are investing in it.

What I’m more concerned about, honestly, is not Wall Street and a bubble. Others can be concerned about that. I’m concerned about getting enough energy to process all that AI. And at this show, for the first time, we have a Korean company showing the first ever small-scale nuclear-powered energy creation device. We expect more and more of these people rushing to fill this gap because we need the energy, we need it clean and we need a kind of all-of-the-above solution.

A Coro breastfeeding monitor is pictured at a Coroflo booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Yonbo X1 robots are pictured at the X-Orgin booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

A Tombot robotic puppy is pictured at a Tombot booth during the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

People arrive at the CES Unveiled tech show Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)