This game was widely viewed as a must-win for DeMeco Ryans and the Houston Texans.
Instead, they fall into an 0-3 hole for the second consecutive season under the fourth-year head coach, who is admittedly left searching for answers following the team’s seventh consecutive loss, dating back to their AFC Divisional Round loss and including the 2026 preseason.
They also face heavy scrutiny, including Ryans, whose game-management skills were called out in the wake of the defeat.
ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime called Ryans’ decision to wait on a late timeout “inexcusable.”
“Objectively speaking: On 1st and 10 from Houston’s 45, the Colts ran the ball for 5 yards and the clock read 1:05,” ESPN’s DJ Bien-Aime posted on X. “Texans coach DeMeco Ryans didn’t call a timeout until 29 seconds left on the clock.”
Over The Cap’s Troy Chapman posted, “Got an extra 25 seconds?” including a GIF of “Chapelle Show” character Tyrone Biggums.
SportsTalk 790’s Adam Wexler noted the 0-3 hole the Texans find themselves in.
“Very questionable clock mgmt (timeout use) by Texans on Colts game-winning drive,” Wexler posted on X following the 19-17 defeat in their 2026 AFC South opener. Won turnover battle 3-0, yet lost, doesn’t happen that often.
DeMeco Ryans Gets Honest After Texans Fall Into 0-3 Hole
Ryans did not shy away from responsibility for the Texans’ loss, pointing the finger back at himself at multiple turns while citing their issues in all phases of the game.
“Wherever we are, it all starts in me,” Ryans told reporters on September 27.
“Right now, it’s not good enough from our perspective. But I like the way our week went. Our process went well this week. Our guys connected, our guys brought the joyful intestinity that I was asking them to bring throughout the week, and also today on game day. We came up short today, and I gotta get back to the drawing board, and I gotta do a better job.”
Ryans later said, “The only way we can do anything about it is go through it, right. We’re going through it right now. It’s adversity. It happens. And for me, it starts with me. So, I gotta do a better job getting our guys ready to roll.”
Ryans said that he will re-examine some of his decisions in the game. What he does not want, though, is fractures to develop.
The coach said he warned his group about the looming onslaught of coverage and scrutiny.
“We keep working. I tell our guys, everybody’s gonna come at us. Tell us, what we should do, what I should do. Everybody, right, has the answers. But the only way we can get through this is us sticking together,” Ryans said. “I told the guys this week, a divided house cannot stand.
“We stand together through it all. I’m standing behind our guys and we’ll keep pushing, keep punching and see our way through this.”
Ryans did not go away from his message that the blame starts with him.
“Obviously, I haven’t coached good enough, right. So I haven’t coached good enough, and I gotta coach better. If I coached better, we’ll find ourselves on the winning side,” Ryans said. “We’ll take 24 hours, right, to get through this one. And then, we’ll take a deep breath, hit reset, and see where we go from here.”
Up next, Ryans and the Texans will host the Dallas Cowboys in Week 4. An 0-3 start is already putting themselves against the odds, but 0-4 could bring in early calls for significant changes within the organization.
DeMeco Ryans Sends Message Amid Backlash Over Texans Loss