After the loss in Indianapolis, Head Coach DeMeco Ryans didn't point anywhere but at himself. He also made clear where he stands with his team.
"We keep working. I told the guys everybody is going to come at us, tell us what we should do, what I should do. Everybody 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, so 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."
The Message From DeMeco Ryans
Ryans took responsibility for the slow start.
"0-3 is where we are right now. The only way we can do anything about it is to go through it," Ryans said. "We're going through it right now, its adversity, it happens. For me, it starts with me. I have to do a better job of getting our guys ready to roll."
His players said they heard the postgame message clearly.
"Just told us to stay together. Not to listen to the noise, and everybody's going to tell us who and what we are, but it's up to us to stay together," QB C.J. Stroud said. "We've been here before, so we know we can get this thing turned around, but it's going to be up to us."
"We've Been Here Before"
Stroud said the team's recent history is the reason for his confidence.
"I have the utmost confidence. You can call me crazy. I don't really care," Stroud said. "But we've been here before, and I think this is sadly something that we can learn from what we did in the past and do even better than last time. That'll be the goal."
Stroud also said the Texans' identity is decided inside their own locker room.
"At the end of the day, we know who we are in our locker room. We know we will hear noise all week," he said. "I think our mindset was great all week. We had a great week of practice, but I think the production just has to go up."
WR Xavier Hutchinson summed up the moment this way:
"I feel like a lot of people forget that, to become a star, you've got to burn first, and we're burning right now whether we like it or not," Hutchinson said. "So, now it's just about how we're going to respond to next week because there's more football to be played. Like our season didn't stop Week 3."
No Room for Energy Vampires
DE Will Anderson Jr. said keeping frustration in check starts with protecting the team's culture.
"You have to keep the camaraderie up. You have to keep the togetherness of the team. You can't let anybody slip," Anderson said. "And one thing we always talk about is energy vampires, and you can't have any energy vampires on the team. Everybody's got to stay up. Everybody's got to stay going through their process, having fun with it and enjoying being on this team, man. Because we're all here for a special reason."
DT Tommy Togiai said it comes down to accountability.
"There's nothing you could do about it but look yourself in the mirror – each man, be accountable for what was on tape today, and you go back and learn from it," Togiai said. "It's a one game at a time league. So, you can't be too down on losses and too high on wins."
Anderson said this game is only the start for this group.
"I still believe in this team. We've got a heck of a team," he said. "We're going to continue to do great things, man. And I think like this game is just the beginning of where this team can really go."
