Preparing for their first-ever home opener on Monday Night Football against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at NRG Stadium, the Houston Texans must turn the page on what happened in their Week 1 loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
They seemed out of sync offensively for most of the game in terms of execution, but one of their most significant issues wasn’t their inability to score touchdowns; it was penalties, which Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans believes are avoidable.
With a calm demeanor on Sunday, Ryan stated that the penalties were unnecessary and that they are things the players can control. Houston finished the game with a total of 11 penalties, seven of which resulted from mistakes on the offensive side of the ball.
During his weekly press conference on Tuesday, he reiterated how important it is to eliminate the penalties that cost them 80 yards against the Rams.
“The things you can control, for me, are the pre-snap penalties,” Ryans said. “Making sure we’re in the right formation, no illegal shifts, no jumping offsides. So, it’s just the pre-snap things; those are the ones that are unacceptable to me because we fully control those. So, let’s get those out of the way and then let’s see how we are.”
Some of the mistakes on the offense were due to the lack of familiarity by quarterback C.J. Stroud and his offensive line, which had to be rearranged before gametime with the injury to offensive lineman Ed Ingram.
The other mishaps can be eliminated with a fresh week of practice and a sense of urgency that will help every player become more disciplined throughout the game, something that Stroud took responsibility for.
“I think it’s obvious we can’t shoot ourselves in the foot consistently and expect to win,” said Stroud after the loss against the Rams on Sunday. “That starts with me with a lot of different things. I think there’s a lot of hope still.
“I definitely think we could’ve won, but you can, ‘should’ve, would’ve, could’ve’ all day. We didn’t deserve to win that game because we didn’t do the right things. When you come out in the NFL lollygagging and going through the motions, that’s what happens. I think we’ll be all right, but I think it’s a good wake-up call for us.”
Ryans echoed the words from Stroud but didn’t place the penalties and lack of urgency on his players; he took accountability for some of the undisciplined traits the team showed in their season opener.
“You’re looking at him, said Ryans when asked who is responsible for the tempo. “Everything comes back to me. It’s not about me saying, ‘Oh, I need to talk to a player about doing this or that.’ We’ll get it fixed. It’s on me.”