The Houston Texans are sitting at 0-3, and yeah, that record looks ugly on paper. But here’s the twist—this team hasn’t exactly been that bad. Each of their first three losses came by a combined 13 points. Close, but in the NFL, “almost” doesn’t count for anything. And DeMeco Ryans isn’t here for moral victories or participation trophies. The second-year head coach made it loud and clear in the locker room: being this close means nothing if you’re still walking off the field without a win.

DeMeco Ryans wants the locker room to be more than just getting close. “We were close in our 3 games. We were there in the 4th quarter. We were close to finishing & closing those games out.. There are plays in each game that we’ve had, these first 3 games, that we didn’t finish & win the game.. So, I’m not talking about close as a team, I’m talking about winning the football game,” he said.

And yes, they really were close. Week 3? Houston was deadlocked 10-10 with Jacksonville before the Jags punched in the game-winner with a measly 1:48 left on the clock. The week before? Tampa Bay stole it with a touchdown that landed like a gut punch six seconds before the clock hit zero.

Don’t forget week 1, either. The Texans somehow forgot how to score after halftime and watched a 14-9 slugfest slip to the Rams. Three games, three heartbreaks, and a combined 13 points stand between Houston and a totally different story. A bit of a gut punch, sure. But there’s no one to blame but them.

“We’ve been in a position to win those games, and we have not won the game. We got to find a way to win the game.. It’s not encouraging to be in close. We want to win games. It’s not about being close,” Ryans added.  Yes, they’ve been in a winning position in every game. But rectifiable mistakes are what cost them.

Week 1 set the tone for heartbreak. The Texans were grinding toward a potential game-winner when Dare Ogunbowale coughed up the ball late, handing the Rams the closing chapter on a silver platter. Week 2? A blocked punt, a handful of self-inflicted wounds, and a final sequence that left Houston one point short against Tampa Bay.

And just when you thought Week 3 might finally flip the script, Nico Collins pulled down a 50-yard bomb to tie things up… only for a fourth-quarter fumble and a game-ending pick to slam the door shut. Three games, three gut punches, and enough “what ifs” to fill a season already.

Ryans’ message is clear to the locker room: do not take pride in ‘getting close.’ Find a way to win instead of bottling it at the end. And while he was at it, he didn’t shy away from talking about the elephant in the room. CJ Stroud‘s late interception.

DeMeco Ryans defends CJ Stroud’s late interception

CJ Stroud took most of the blame for that late interception in week 3, but Ryans argued that it’s a collective problem. “As we go through the film, we talk about the route distribution, the protection, all of those things are things that we bring up, and we look at to see how can we better deploy guys to make sure we’re giving ourselves the best chance to have successful plays,” he said after the Jaguars game.

Let’s talk about how the interception unfolded. With the clock begging for a hero and plenty of time to push for a tying score, all eyes were on CJ Stroud. Instead, the Texans’ would-be comeback drive ended with a thud—Stroud’s interception slammed the brakes on a nine-play march and snuffed out Houston’s last shot at overtime. Stroud tried to thread one to Christian Kirk near the end zone, but Jags DB Antonio Johnson read the play quite easily.

But it wasn’t entirely on Stroud. The former Buckeye barely had a heartbeat to scan the field before Jacksonville’s pass rush came storming in, collapsing the pocket, and barely giving Stroud any time. “We may need to put some chips on the edge, and make sure we’re helping out when we have an issue player,” Ryans said, focusing on the fix rather than dwelling on the pick.

“So, it’s all of us. It’s all inclusive, coaches, players, everybody. Just fine-tuning things to make sure we are giving ourselves the best chance,” Ryans added. The Texans will go up against the Titans in week 4, and Ryans will be hoping to fix some of these miscues.