Head Coach DeMeco Ryans
On his reaction to the final moments of the game after the Texans we're called for a safety
"It was a disappointing loss for us. We didn't do anything well enough to win this game. Out of all the positives that we did have, there were way too many negatives. Too many negative plays. Score, get a penalty, get touchdowns called back. Get penalties on special teams. Just way too many negative plays defensively, like unexplainable explosives for touchdowns. We just didn't play good across the board. That starts with me, obviously. We weren't ready to go as a team so that starts with me."
On the most frustrating part about this loss
"The most frustrating part about it is out of all the bad things that happened, we still had a chance to finish the game, right? Everything that could go wrong, it went wrong. We still had a chance there to tie it up and finish the game, and we didn't."
On how to address the second half struggles on offense
"Yeah, the first thing is we have to create positive plays. Too many times, whether it's run or pass, we have a negative play which kills our drive. First things first, how can we sustain positive plays and build drives. Too many drives were stalled out before we could even get started."
On how small mistakes throughout the season have impacted the potential of the team
"Again, we have to be able to finish games. That's been an emphasis of ours is going out and finishing. We didn't. We didn't execute. We didn't finish the right way. You can put that on me first."
On concerns for the need to improve the team's offensive performance
"The concern for me is we need to play complementary football, right? We play complementary football, we win games. We don't, we're not relying on one side to carry the entire time. So whatever happens, like our offense gave us enough points to win the game so that starts with the defense. Didn't do enough to stop them. We didn't stop the run, and we didn't run the ball well, and we gave up way too many points on defense. Our offense did plenty. They gave us enough points. On defense, we have to be able to stop them."
On why they increase cadence in between plays on offense in particular situations
"Yeah, that's part of our strategy, depending on the games. Sometimes we use it to catch teams subbing or to catch teams off guard."
On why the Texans struggled with the run game on both sides of the ball
"Again, it starts with their defensive line. They're a really good front. Really good front. We knew that going into the game. But it doesn't matter. Every front is good. You have to own the line of scrimmage. You have to be able to control the line of scrimmage and run the ball. We didn't. We had too many negative plays in the running game. Defensively, we didn't set the edge well, and the ball got outside a ton, and we didn't tackle well. All of those mistakes are the making for a pretty bad run defense."
On the muffed punt that CB Kris Boyd recovered and other positive things for the Texans
"Yeah, a lot of positive things happened. For us to get a turnover we talked about throughout the week for special teams, create a turnover, we did that. Defensively, to get a pick 6, get eight sacks in the game, it was a lot of really good things that happened for our team. But the negatives just right now outweigh the positives. Our guys continue to do good things, but we have to string it together where we can finish and celebrate those positives after the game."
On the good defensive performance despite not getting a win
"How I assess it is at the end of the day, it's not good enough. At the end of the day, we're trying to finish the game with a win, no matter how that looks, and we came up short."
On the decision to punt on 4th down after considering going for it in the 3rd quarter
"Nothing happened. I decided to punt the football."
