Here's everything Houston Texanshead coach DeMeco Ryans said following Sunday's 34-30 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, including the team's 0-4 start, the lack of a run game and where the team can go from here in hopes of saving the season.
Question: On the defense struggling to finish out games
DeMeco Ryans: "Yeah, today it was not a great finish by our team defensively. It was not good enough. If the offense goes out and plays like they played to give us 30 points, defensively you have to find a way to close that game out. It was disappointing that we've been in three games that way where the offense has done a great job and we haven't been able to close it out there in the second half. We've got to look at it all and see what changes we need to make
and what we need to fix."
Q: On Dallas Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb having a big game
Ryans: "We have to play our technique better. In the second half it just wasn't good enough. First half, I thought everybody played the coverages the proper way. They were where they were supposed to be, eliminated the explosive plays. From the second half, whatever the reason that may be, we did not do our coverages the proper way."
Q: On the penalties
Ryans: "The penalties definitely crushed us today. Too many self-inflicted penalties offensively. We had penalties to start the drive, kickoff return. Way too many penalties hurting the team, not helping the team. Defensively, third down. We had a lot of things that we're fighting against ourselves and you can't win football in the NFL that way when you're constantly fighting the uphill battle. So, the penalties have to be eliminated."
Q: On the running game
"The offense scored 30 points."
Q: On coverage struggles
Ryans: "I have to look at the film and see what happened, but in a couple of plays there where you see CeeDee is just wide open; that's definitely not our plan. We have to look at it to see what happened, what were the communication miscues that happened, but that's not how we play coverage."
Q: On QB C.J. Stroud dealing with offensive penalties and other offensive mistakes
Ryans: "C.J. is a big boy. He played outstanding today, threw the ball around really well. It was great having Nico back. Would love to be able to celebrate Nico for him being back, creating explosive plays there to start the football game, to get in the end zone two times. Jaylin Noel stepped up. Big, explosive play on offense. Also, big, explosive kick return as well. There were a lot of great things. 'KB' [Kayshon Boutte] continues to make tough, contested catches time and time again. [Xavier] Hutchison showed up big-time on some third downs, some catch-and-run-type plays, creating first downs, keeping the chains moving. Many positive things that I would love to highlight from our guys offensively. They did a really great job. Whether it's running the ball, throwing the ball, it didn't matter. Our guys moved the ball really well. It just didn't play well enough defensively, and it's a bad feeling. You don't play that well defensively to finish a game when the offense did such an outstanding job, right? That's just not great on our part."
Q: On overcoming an 0-4 start
Ryans: "You stick together, and you keep going. That's what it is. All these games, we've been in these games. We just got to find a way to finish these games. That's what it is. It's 0-4, that's our record. That's what it says who we are right now, but how do you come out of it, it's what I told our guys, you stick together. There's no pointing fingers, no blaming. 'Hey, you look within yourself. [Head Coach] DeMeco [Ryans], what do you have to do better to get it corrected?' That's where I start with myself. How can I get it all corrected?"
Q: On the difference between the first and second half defensively
Ryans: "I have to look at it to see exactly what happened. For us, I know they came out, we gave up the big return to start the second half, which we can't do. We have to cover better there on special teams, and then we allowed them to go down and score. They're in range now, so have to look at it again to see. I know in the second half we gave up way too many explosive plays. If we want to stop an explosive offense like that, you can't allow the ball to be completed 20 yards more down the field. We gave up way too many of those to good players. Did a good job in the first half, but for whatever reason it is, I'll have to examine it on the video this evening and see what happened."
Q: On opponents generating explosive plays
Ryans: "We'll look at the film and see what really happened on the explosive plays, but there is no coverage where we designed to leave guys open. That's not a coverage, so we have to do a better job there. They made a play. I thought it was George [Pickens] made a really big play there, that's a contested play right there. Kamari [Lassiter] is battling, a contested play today made. We have to find a way to be on the other side of this, find a way to get the ball out, find a way to get the quarterback down."
Q: On potential changes
Ryans: "Whatever. I mean, it's my job as the leader of this football team to do whatever it takes for us to turn this thing around."
Q: On the message to the team postgame
Ryans: "It's the same message. The only people that can do anything about the 0-4 start are the guys in that locker room. Coaches, players, we all have to stick together. It's easy when you are in this spot to point fingers or blame this person or that person. That doesn't solve anything. When things get hard, adversity hits, you climb your way through it by sticking together. That's the only way I know. Been there, done it. That's the only way I know and we'll keep working. We'll get back to the drawing board, keep working, but a lot of guys did a lot of good things today. A lot of good things. My message is it hurts me that I can't go in and celebrate those positives that a lot of guys showed today on the field for us."
Q: On the offensive line
"I'll have to look at the film to see what happened there."
Q: On the biggest difference from last year's start to this year's
Ryans: "I understand a lot of people want to compare 2025 to 2026, but for me, it's not the same. It's not. We got a different team. We have different people, it's different. As much as we would love 2025 to carry over into 2026, that's never the case. That never works in the NFL. Just because you have prior success, that doesn't automatically mean you're going to have future success. You have to go out and earn everything you get in the NFL and right now we're not doing the things to earn the right to win games. So when we do things the proper way, and we put the work in the proper way, we close games out how we're supposed to close it out. You have to go earn it. Nobody is handing us any wins. We'll get a win when we go earn it the right way."
Q: On if the players thought 2025 was going to carry over into this season
Ryans: "You would have to ask the guys individually on that, but for me, every year you start over. For me, 2025 was 2025. It's a shame we're sitting here talking about that right now, but for us, 2026, what do we do about it right now? That's my mindset. That's the mindset of our players."
Q: On the pass interference call that lead to a Cowboys touchdown
Ryans: "That was a tough one for us there in the red zone. I thought our guys played it tight. It was tough and the energy was right from our crowd. The fans were definitely into it. Man, I wanted that stop there on fourth down, but unfortunately, we didn't get the stop. I don't control what happens there with the penalties, but man, our guys battled there. I thought we were clean. Came away with the stop there, but it didn't go our way."
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said following Week 4 loss to Cowboys
