Here is everything Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said ahead of their bye week after losing 27-21 to the New York Giants in overtime, including his reaction to the defense’s execution, whether the coaching staff will change and Houston’s performance at home and in one-score games.
Question: On cleaning up the penalties and missed tackles
DeMeco Ryans: "To clean up the penalties and tackling, it starts collectively just with ownership. Tackling is fundamentals. You have to wrap up. We had a few opportunities there, we're not wrapping up. We're sitting in the chairs and we're kind of waiting on the back as opposed to playing fast and just going and shooting our shot and everybody swarming to the football. Penalties, we just have to make
sure we're clean, especially when it comes to blocking. Knowing when to let up, knowing we can't, you know, hold guys. You can't do that. So you have to be smart there. You have to know when to let up, especially when you're at the point of attack."
Q: On being disappointed in the fundamentals
Ryans: "We are where we are right now, right. As where we are, it's not good enough and it starts, first off, with me. Obviously, I've got to coach it better and do a better job of getting across to the guys that things are there for us, or we can make a few plays. The games we've been in, we've been in some tight ball games. That's what the NFL is. I think five of our games have came down to the last possession. We've won one, we lost four of them. So there are a few plays out there if we can find a way to make those plays, we can be sitting on the other side. We didn't make those plays, so we are where we are right now and it is what it is. How do we press forward? How do we move ahead and find a way to make those plays?"
Q: On clarification to what he can coach better
Ryans: "Yeah, it means if it's not showing up, I really have to do a better job to make sure it shows up. What you see on tape is what we're coaching. If it shows up on tape that we're not tackling well, I have to make sure I'm emphasizing that much more and putting the guys in position throughout the week in practice to get that done."
Q: On other teams knowing their style of play
Ryans: "I hope everybody knows our style of play, but it doesn't matter what teams know. It's about us showing up on Sundays and executing. That's what matters most."
Q: On defensive adjustments
Ryans: "We make adjustments consistently. We make adjustments all the time."
Q: On defensive execution
Ryans: "The execution piece, every play that we run, everything that we do, there is a rule tied to it, there is a technique tied to it. Every play you have to go out and execute those things. That's what I'm saying, you have to do it the proper way to be in position to make a play. Whether it's in the run game and you're getting blocked from inside-out, how are you using your hands, your feet to punch a block, get off a block, finish it and go make that play? Coverage technique, where are your eyes in coverage? Where are you contacting the guy when you can within five yards to disrupt the timing of the route? Where is your leverage when the route is up field? Are you outside leverage or are you inside leverage? Do we have help over the top or not? All of those, it's a lot of little key things that no one likes to talk about, but all of those things, that's the details of what we do when it comes to defense. Offense as well. I mean, we run the football. There's a scheme, design for how we go through and how we should execute, how we should block, blocking inside-out and finishing the proper way, proper hat placement. All those type of things, there's a ton of detail that goes into all those plays."
Q: On if he will continue the season with the same staff
Ryans: "Yes, we will."
Q: On the offensive game plan
Ryans: "It was the game flow and how the game worked out for us. It's hard to try to force the ball when we're not sustaining drives. When you're going three-and-out, what do we want to do? We have to be able to win third down there. I think we win third down, then we have more plays. We have more shots on goal. The key is how do we start better on first and second down to have manageable thirds and when we get to third down, we have to be able to convert those."
Q: On losing home games
Ryans: "It's not where we want to be. Right now being 0-4 at home is not how we expected it to be. We want to give our fans better and we have to find a way to turn that around."
Q: On losing one score games and looking at the scheme and execution to correct it
Ryans: "Always. We look at it from week to week. It's not just, 'Oh, now we look at it now.' We look at that from week to week to see what we can do, how we can put the guys in position."
Q: On losing one-score games
Ryans: "We haven't gotten it done."
Q: On returning a majority of starters from last season and what the reason is for the disappointing start
Ryans: "This is 2026. I know you all like to keep going back to 2025. Every year each team changes. It's a new team. For every team that didn't make the playoffs last year, should they not make the playoffs again this year? It's each team, each year it changes. Right now where we are in 2026 for the guys who are here and the coaches who are here, we have to do things better. Right now we haven't had the outcome that we want. We get it. We understand that. I understand the questions of what we're asking, but in football you have to go earn it. It's not just talking about it. It's not just, 'Oh, because of what you did last year or that previous year.' It's about what you do right now when the ball is snapped in 2026. Right now in 2026, we've been in some tight ball games and we have not closed the games out as we should have closed the games out and that's where we are. That's what our film says. That's where we are, so we've got to find a way to fix it. This is not where we want to be right now as a team. We understand that. Coaches, players, our entire organization understands that. It's not the home record we want for our fans. It's not the outcomes."
Q: On building off of the 2025 season
Ryans: "It's a new year, it's a new team."
Q: On players making the same mistakes
Ryans: "We keep coaching them. I don't run from coaching. It's about coaching. It's about trying to help guys continue to do as best as they can possibly do when they're out on there on the field. We're not running from it. No new guys are showing up. We keep helping the guys that we have because we got guys who can go out and do it."
Q: On the offensive line
Ryans: "Overall, I look back at the game this past Sunday and it's the physicality from overall. They were more physical than us. That's what the tape shows. So for us as a team, we've got to play more physical if you want to win football games and you've got to control the line of scrimmage."
Q: On WR Nico Collins getting double-teamed
Ryans: "The challenges when one guy is doubled, you're anticipating other guys being able to find a way to beat coverage and get open. You're anticipating, you're able to progress in whatever that pass concept shows. Hopefully someone else is open and we're able to get the ball to them. We have a lot of guys who are capable of making plays and getting open. Not just that you have to force-feed. One thing I know about Nico and I love about Nico, he's shown time after time that he can still come down with the contested catches even when he has been double-teamed because he is that great of a player."
Q: On the team morale and if they are confident they can get back on track
Ryans: "I hope so. Yeah, no, of course, the morale is not great. You're 2-5 and no one wants to lose and we lost a tough one there in overtime. There aren't many smiles, many happy faces, but it's football. It's a competitive sport. You win some, you lose some. Right now we've lost more than we've wanted to lose. So what do you do as a competitor? For me, the only thing I know is you get back to work and you attack it with a great attitude, attack it with great energy and attack it with purpose. That's how you do anything and that's how we will attack this coming off of our bye week."
Q: On injury updates
Ryans: "I do not have an update on those guys right now. We're still taking it one day at a time. Jaylin [Noel] is still being evaluated for his turf toe to see how significant of an injury it was."
Q: On the confidence in the scheme
Ryans: "I'm confident in what we're doing."
Q: On QB C.J. Stroud
Ryans: "C.J. has done a fantastic job. All year he's done a fantastic job. If he continues to play like he's playing, we'll win a lot of football games with the type of plays that he's made."
Q: On the solution coming out of the bye week
Ryans: "The solution, you keep your eyes forward and for me it's what's ahead. How do we fix it is, again, you come back with the intent, the purpose to fix it. Like the sheer will power that I'm going to find a way to do everything in my power to coach as best as I can possibly coach to help our guys be in position to win football games. We're going to go close out games and win them. We have a lot of football left. It's not where we want to be, but what do you do about it? Strap it up, let's go. That's my mindset. Hopefully that's our team's mindset. We still got to go attack this thing the right way and find a way to hit a reset here at the bye week. It's coming at a good time for us right here in the middle of the season, so we get to, again, throughout the bye week, I'll go through, evaluate everything, see what we need to do. If there's anything I need to adjust, things we need to improve on from my perspective, I'll do that. Everything will be geared towards helping our players be as successful as possible."
Q: On making it to the playoffs
Ryans: "One game at a time."
Q: On utilizing their playmakers
Ryans: "We'll look at that and see how can we utilize all of the guys better. I think your first time having those guys out with our running back situation as well is a lot to adjust and handle. I thought the guys did a good job with that. We still had a chance to win this football game, so I'm not down on what we do schematically. I'm not down on our coaches. I'm not down on our players. I'm excited to go find a way, how can our offense battle back? They scored at the end of the game to give us an opportunity to go into overtime. Our offense has done some good things and collectively as a team, how do we find a we to win that game in overtime?"
Q: On WR Tank Dell
Ryans: "It wasn't the play that gave me optimism from Tank. It's Tank. I have a ton of optimism in Tank just from how he prepares, what I've seen him do on the practice field for the past three weeks."
Q: On giving up explosive plays
Ryans: "Explosives, it starts first and foremost, whether it's run or pass, it starts with the detail of what we're doing. Everybody, as we all know, I hope everybody is responsible for a person and how that should look. So it starts with just schematically making sure we're putting the guys in a good position. Everybody knows what they're doing, where they should be and can put them in better positions to eliminate some explosives. So I'll take a look at that and see how I can help get the explosives down because when the explosives show up, that starts with me. I'll see how I can fix that where."
Q: On how the offense reacted to pressure from the New York Giants
Ryans: "Third downs were not good enough for us. Of course, we didn't convert enough third downs. The pressure definitely showed that it caused some problems. We have to find a way to still make sure everybody is on the same page. When we do have pressure, 'Hey, what are we going to? Are we changing the protection? Are we utilizing our hot answers?' Everybody just has to be clued in. I think to win third down, it starts with first and second down. You have to get into more manageable third downs. When you are in those mid-ranges or higher ranges, teams will apply more pressure because there is more freedom to throw the ball short of the sticks, catch, tackle."
Q: On being 2-5
Ryans: "Not surprised. It's the reality of where we are. It's one game at a time. It's where we are. So it's no surprise for me. We've got to find a way to play better."
Q: On if the team has the right mentality for tackling
Ryans: "Yes. We have to wrap up."
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: What did Texans HC DeMeco Ryans say ahead of Houston's bye week?
