How DeMeco Ryans and Texans took a 'deep look' at themselves during open week
· Yahoo Sports
Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans wants to see his team refocus and reset as it returns after a week off from game action.
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"We're just resetting on our technique, our fundamentals, our communication, making sure we get better at what we can control and not really focusing on others," Ryans said. "That's what the bye week entailed for us. It's a deep look internally."
The fourth-year coach said he felt a renewed sense of urgency Monday morning as the Texans entered the first week of November with a 2-5 record, a far cry from what fans were hoping for heading into the season.
Ryans said the focus is not on other teams but on themselves and their process to improve, including doing small things to swing margins in their favor.
That's going to be key if Houston wants to turn its season around. It's 1-4 in one-score games with all four losses featuring the opponents scoring the game-winning points in the final two minutes of the game or in overtime.
Even the one win, the 34-31 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London, saw the Jaguars score a game-tying field goal with 1:55 left in the game.
"How do you find yourself on the winning side of those games?" Ryans said. "It's being great in situational football and it's finishing the proper way. If we do those things, that's when you earn the right to win games."
Somehow, despite the disappointing start, Houston is in second place in the AFC South as the Indianapolis Colts are on a four-game losing streak and the Tennessee Titans are 1-7.
Houston's place in the AFC playoff picture is much murkier. The Texans have three teams ahead of them on the playoff bubble. But Houston has the second-best playoff odds (25%) of all the AFC teams not in the top seven spots heading into this week, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. Only the Cleveland Browns, whom the Texas play next week, have a better chance to make the playoffs.
Houston starts the second half of its season with the lone winless team left in the league in the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers dropped to 0-7 Sunday with a 24-9 loss to the crosstown rival Los Angeles Rams.
The Chargers haven't scored a touchdown since the third quarter of their 23-17 loss to the Denver Broncos on Oct. 11. That's nine quarters of touchdownless football for the Chargers, who rank fifth-to-last in total yards per game.
The first full week of November last season kicked off Houston's nine-game win streak to finish the regular season while the Texans also went 7-3 during Ryans' first year leading the team in 2023. But Ryans said he isn't focused on starting a streak this week.
"Our opportunity starts this week with us being focused on handling what we can control, controlling what we can control and not putting a focus on a run," Ryans said. "It's about how do we prepare the right way. How do we play more disciplined? How do we have the self-discipline to go out and play clean football? That's where it starts for me. I'm not concerned about a run. I'm concerned about us playing better."
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There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at How DeMeco Ryans and Texans took a 'deep look' at themselves during open week.