Their record may not indicate it, but the Houston Texans are not in a good spot. There may be no better indication of that than last night’s 21-13 loss to the New York Jets. And head coach DeMeco Ryans is frustrated about it.
Despite the Jets entering the game on a five-game losing streak and the Aaron Rodgers-led New York offense only able to muster 32 passing yards in the first half, which sparked ‘Sell the team’ chants, the Texans could not score a touchdown in the second half and fell to the now 3-6 Jets.
After the game, Ryans explained the source of his frustration.
‘The frustrating part is to play well in the first half and come out in second half and not tackle and not protect and get the quarterback hit,” Ryans said, via KPRC 2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson. “We didn’t come out and execute well enough to win the game. We didn’t make plays. That’s frustrating.”
Ryans also mentioned the fact that Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn missed two field goals and criticized the defense’s tackling and ability to stop the Jets’ rushing attack, which gained 100 yards exactly on 21 carries last night.
With the loss, Houston is now 6-3 and in danger of falling down the AFC standings quickly. Losers of two of their last three, the Texans have proved incapable of protecting second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud, who was sacked a career-high 8 times and completed less than 40% of his passes amid the tough night.
While Stroud could not break 200 yards through the air, the Texans found success rushing the ball vs. New York; Joe Mixon led the Houston run game, which totaled 187 yards as Mixon (106 yards), Stroud (59), and J.J. Taylor (23) dominated on the ground.
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The Texans, despite multiple impactful injuries, will need to find a way to get back to their winning ways — Houston won five of its first six games this season — or risk allowing a mediocre AFC South to catch up over the next several weeks. After Thursday’s loss, the Texans hold a 1.5-game lead over the second-place Indianapolis Colts, who are benching second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson for veteran Joe Flacco starting this week.
Houston will have more than a week to rest and prepare for the Detroit Lions, who possess one of the best offenses in the entire NFL. Detroit has scored 30 or more points in each of their last four games and have won five consecutive games entering this weekend, when they play the Green Bay Packers.
After the matchup with Detroit, the Texans are scheduled to play in Arlington vs. the Dallas Cowboys before meeting the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars, their lowly AFC South rivals, in back-to-back weeks.