Ryans on first win of coaching career: 'They kept pushing, they kept fighting'

The Houston Texans’ 37-17 Week 3 road win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 24th marked a few firsts. Not only was it the team’s first of the young 2023 regular season, but also the first in the fledgling careers of rookie head coach Demeco Ryans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.

"They kept pushing, they kept fighting,” Ryans said in a Facebook video posted by the Texans before the flight home. “We made plays playing complementary football. That’s how you win games so I was happy and proud of our team for the way they responded when it didn’t quite go our way,” he said.

After surrendering an average of 28 points in the first two contests, the Texans lit their division rivals up for 37 points behind a 20-for-30, 280-yard, and 2-touchdown performance from Stroud, who was the second overall selection in last spring’s National Football League (NFL) Draft out of Ohio State University. Rookie wide receiver and ex-University of Houston (UH) star Nathaniel Dell and tight end Brevin Jordan were each the recipients of the Stroud’s heaves for scores, with the pass to Dell late in the game acting as the go-ahead play to seal the victory for the Texans. Despite having a far from ideal start to his sophomore season, running back Dameon Pierce began what turned out to be a dominant outing for the visitors with a one-yard barge into the end zone.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that with a little over four minutes left in the third quarter, fullback Andrew Beck scooped up what could’ve been a costly fumble during a kickoff return and rumbled 85 yards for a touchdown. The rare play, along with two blocked field goals, defined the day for the Texans special teams unit.

Houston controlled virtually the whole game, with Jacksonville nearly erasing its visitors’ 17-point lead after the second half began. The injury-riddled offensive line didn’t yield a sack, and Stroud recorded 121 pass attempts without an interception, which the Texans said is the most in the league’s history through the first three career starts. On October 1st, the Texans host the Pittsburgh Steelers, with halftime to feature a ceremony in which the franchise inducts former defensive end J.J. Watt into its Ring of Honor. Watt’s younger brother, T.J. plays for Pittsburgh.