Several plays were massive in setting the outcome of the Houston Texans' loss to the Indianapolis Colts and another 0-3 start, but only two really turned a comeback victory into another 'same old story.'
No, the offensive line didn't play up to par. The run was nonexistent for most of the afternoon. The defense allowed multiple explosives in coverage to set up field goals, including the game-winner from Spencer Shrader to end a nine-game losing streak dating back to last November.
But the loss at Lucas Oil Stadium falls on the shoulders of DeMeco Ryans. Two moments led to the defeat and the slow start, not because of on-field execution failing, but rather because of off-field decision-making going wrong in a matter of seconds.
“0-3 is where we
are right now,” Ryans said. “The only way we can do anything about it is to go through it. We’re going through it right now, it’s adversity; it happens. For me, it starts with me.”
DeMeco Ryans after the loss to the Colts:
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) September 27, 2026
“For us it’s 0-3 start. As a team, it all starts with me. Right now it’s not good enough from our perspective. I like the way our week went, our process went. Went well this week, our guys connected, brought joyful intensity I asked them… pic.twitter.com/fbkXIk7hbF
Much like last week, Houston's offense remained on the field in the first quarter for a fourth-and-short play that could have been settled with a field goal from Ka'imi Fairbairn. The ball was placed at the 31-yard line, well within reach of Fairbairn's range to make it a 3-0 affair.
Similar to Week 2's performance against the Cincinnati Bengals, Ryans wanted to be aggressive and go for double the points. The result? A stretch run with David Montgomery to the outside that was snuffed behind the line of scrimmage, leading to a turnover on downs.
The Colts would score a field goal on the ensuing drive to take the lead.
DeMeco Ryans on his message to the team:
— Houston Stressans (@TexansCommenter) September 28, 2026
“We Keep working. I told our guys everybody’s gunna come at us, tell us what we should do, what I should do, everybody has the answers but the only way we can get through this is us sticking together. I told the guys this week, a divided… pic.twitter.com/xccSHMnLV3
"I wanted our guys to finish that drive down with a touchdown there. I believed in the play call that we have, I believed in the guys doing it and it didn’t work our way," Ryans said of the call. "Every week we talk about fourth downs, sometimes it goes your way and it’s great. They converted some fourth downs and we didn't."
Three points would have been enough to win on Saturday. Even if Fairbairn missed the kick, the Texans were able to take the lead following a Will Anderson Jr. strip-sack and a Woody Marks touchdown. With less than two minutes to go, Houston had its victory in reach.
Then came the final drive.
Then came multiple errors.
For starters, Fairbairn's kickoff went out of the end zone, resulting in a touchback. Instead of taking time off the clock and trusting the kicking team to get a stop behind the line, everything became idle and Indianapolis started the drive from the 35-yard line.
“We kicked it right at the goal line. It got a little bit further than we needed to and it went into the end zonefor a touchback," Ryans said.
After a run from Jonathan Taylor, the Texans could have stopped the clock. Indianapolis was already near field goal range following a Jones' path to Laquon Treadwell, meaning Houston would need at least a field goal to retake the lead with under a minute left.
But Ryans didn't call a timeout initially. He let the clock run and the Colts were in no rush to get to the line of scrimmage. Eventually, 36 seconds ran off the clock before Ryans finally called a timeout.
At that point, the 1:05 left had reached 29 seconds.
“When I look at it, if I can make a better decision, I’ll look at that and try to see where I can make a better decision,” Ryans said.
Those seconds were costly following Shrader's kick. The Colts had the lead with 21 seconds left. Jaylin Noel was forced to return the ball to give Houston better field positon, taking another 10 seconds off the clock.
If Ryans had called the timeout with 1:05 left, Houston likely would have had about 30 seconds to work with. C.J. Stroud completed two passes, nearly putting the offense in range for Fairbairn, but with only one second remaining, Ryans went for the Hail Mary.
It failed, thus leading to the same start as last season with just new opponents.
Entering October, the Texans are last AFC South, trailing the Jacksonville Jaguars by two games and the Colts by one. Indianapolis also has the head-to-hed win, which is massive since Houston last season couldn't clinch the divison title after winning nine straight because of Jacksonville's head-to-head victory.
"0-3 is where we are right now. The only way we can do anything about it is to go through it," Ryans said. "We’re going through it right now, its adversity, it happens. For me, it starts with me. I have to do a better job of getting our guys ready to roll.”
The Texans will have to be ready to roll come Sunday when they welcome the Dallas Cowboys. And if fans thought Sunday was a must-win game, this one at Reliant is the definition of 'do or die' time.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Did DeMeco Ryans cost the Texans a win vs. Colts? How two plays defined Week 3
