Ryans’ focus on ‘next game’ with first place on the line
First place is on the line in the AFC South when the Texans host the Jaguars on Sunday.
For a Texans organization that won just 11 games over the previous three seasons combined, this is no small feat.
“Very excited,” rookie receiver Tank Dell said, “knowing this organization is turning it around and getting an opportunity to fight for first place. We’re going to prepare well, go out here and execute in practice, and once we get to Sunday, it’s going to be a showdown for both teams.”
Houston is 6-4. Jacksonville is 7-3. A win awards the Texans the tiebreaker over the Jaguars with six games left.
Houston defeated Jacksonville 37-17 in Week 3. It was the first head coaching win for Demeco Ryans and stymied an 0-2 start.
Ryans is tempering hype and expectation, reverting to classic coachspeak often this week when discussing the magnitude of Sunday’s game.
“It’s the next game for us,” Ryans said. “It means our guys have done a really good job and they’ve put the work in. I’m proud of our guys for putting themselves in this position. And now just have to go out and play clean football, play our style of football on Sunday and be the best team within those three-and-a-half hours.”
The Texans have been the best team for three straight weeks via three consecutive wins.
The offense is humming behind the dynamic play of rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud and Dell. The running game, spurred by Devin
Singletary, is emerging. The defense is maturing as players get more comfortable in the scheme.
Houston, a young team with a rookie head coach and a rookie quarterback, is 4-2 in one-score games.
“It’s been really cool to see our progress all the way from the beginning of the season to now,” said Stroud, who is third in the NFL in passing yards (2,962), eighth in passer rating (99.3) and 12th in touchdown passes (17). “This is all we’ve worked for, so a lot of work has been put in, and now it’s time to go cash in. It’s been special to see this work little by little, the new pieces we’ve added in and things like that.”
Ryans said this will not be the same Jaguars team the Texans saw in September. Jacksonville has improved at running the ball, thanks to better blocking from different parts.
“The way their receivers block, the way the tight ends block … they’ve done a really good job of running
the ball,” Ryans said. “(Travis) Etienne is running it really well. We didn’t play the run well the first time we played them, so we have to do a much better job this time around.”
The Jaguars are also doing a better job scheming to get quarterback Trevor Lawrence on the edge, making it easier for him to complete quick throws.
Since that Sept. 24 loss to the Texans, Lawrence is completing 70 percent of his passes for an average of 235.1 yards, with eight touchdowns to four interceptions in seven games.
“He’s done a great job of getting out and utilizing his athletic ability, and I think that’s where he’s made some teams pay, using his athletic ability and being able to run,” Ryans said. “Playing on the edge is where he’s thrived the most.”
Defensively, Stroud said, the Jaguars have every coverage, every blitz, every defensive front.
“I know that Jaguars defense is going to play tough,” Stroud said. “They want to come here and beat us because we got them, so we definitely have to be able to be on our ‘A’ game. They do a lot, so we’ve just got to be honing our execution and our details and do well there.”
Sunday will be intense. It has been years since the Texans could speak seriously about playoff contention, let alone a division title.
But they have not forgotten what got them here. It is a tedious, day-by-day approach instilled by their head coach. Ryans said an AFC South title was never on his vision board.
“I wasn’t thinking about this during training camp or during the start of the season,” Ryans said. “I was thinking about our focus for that particular week, that particular day. How can our team get better? How can we continue to grow?”
One week at a time, one game at a time. It’s the ethos that has revived legitimacy within the Texans.
“If you make games bigger than they’re supposed to be, then you’re focused on the wrong things, and now you can’t really truly lock in and focus on the small, fine details of your job,” Ryans said. “That’s what is going to win football games. It’s not about all of the hoopla that’s going on around the game of what place you’re going to be in if you win. Like, none of that matters if you don’t go out and execute, play well and play great football. That’s all that matters.
“Are you playing fast, are you finishing with a physical mindset, and are you winning that down? That’s the only thing that matters.”