Head coach DeMeco Ryans isn’t letting the Houston Texans get comfortable just because they punched their playoff ticket. Yep, the Texans have officially entered the postseason after a gritty 20–16 road win over the Los Angeles Chargers. But Ryans thinks celebration isn’t the destination. While owning every bit of the victory, the coach has delivered a powerful message to his locker room about what comes next. 

Speaking to the press after the win, DeMeco Ryans dropped his thoughts on making the playoffs and big plays early in the tournament. 

“It’s a lot to go through to play in the playoffs,” he said, via reporter Aaron Wilson’s post on X.

“It’s what you play for, it’s what you work hard for without training camp, it’s what you fight this season for, it’s an opportunity to play in the playoffs and win it all. We earned that. It wasn’t given to us by God. We got to earn it. We trained the crap out of everybody.”

With the Week 17 win, the Texans rattled off eight straight wins. It recorded the second-longest winning streak in franchise history. Further, this is their first time clinching a playoff spot in three consecutive seasons. But as Ryans mentioned, the path was far from easy, and his team deserves every bit of glory. On Saturday, Houston clashed with one of the AFC’s most balanced teams. Yet, the Texans took control right from the get-go.

In just 10 minutes into the game, quarterback CJ Stroud lit up the scoreboard with two touchdowns. He first connected with wide receiver Jayden Higgins on a stunning 75-yard score and then found wideout Jaylin Noel for a 43-yard touchdown. Los Angeles clapped back with a 27-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker, but Houston continued stacking points throughout the game. Some plays could have shifted the momentum towards the Chargers, but they couldn’t finish them.

For instance, quarterback Justin Herbert connected with wide receiver Quentin Johnston right before halftime, but the drive ended in a costly red-zone interception. Later, running back Omarion Hampton’s 5-yard touchdown cut the lead to 20–16. But Dicker’s missed extra point left them chasing a touchdown to win.

Meanwhile, the Texans’ powerful defense contributed with five sacks on Herbert and allowed just 74 rushing yards. But besides the powerful performance, DeMeco Ryans knows just what kept this winning momentum rolling. 

DeMeco Ryans points to Jacksonville as the turning point

The Texans are on cloud nine with their eight-game winning streak, but Ryans knows it didn’t play out accidentally. According to him, everything changed for good when his team beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 36–29 in Week 9. Calling it a “turning point,” the coach explained what led him to think this way. 

“For us to be  down as far  as we were in that game and for to have our backup quarterback Davis Mills to  have such a clutch performance to get us into a position to win that game,” he said. “I feel like that’s the game that flipped our season and just showed us like no matter  what we’re up against, no matter who’s on the field, we stay together, stay connected.”

For context, the Texans were without Stroud in that game and had to lean on backup Davis Mills, who was making his first start since Jan. 8, 2023. After a shaky start, Mills ended up recording 292 yards and helped Houston erase a 19-point second-half deficit to steal a win. Ryan thinks the comeback did more than save a game. It sharpened the Texans’ late-game execution, and the results showed in their next two games.

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They first edged out the Tennessee Titans with a clutch field goal and survived the Buffalo Bills. It came from safety Calen Bullock’s game-sealing interception of QB Josh Allen on the last drive.

“We found a way to finish,” Ryans said. “We play clean, we protected the football well, we’ve taken the football away, and we finished the right way. So, we continue that formula, we should be in a good position.” 

With his new formula and confidence, DeMeco Ryans’ team turns its focus to facing the Indianapolis Colts in their last game of the regular season.