DeMeco Ryans Sends Blunt Message After Texans' 0-2 Start

Heading into Week 3 of the NFL season, the Houston Texans have dropped both of their two contests to start the year vs. the LA Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, dropping them to a 0-2 record, and now face the Jacksonville Jaguars this weekend to avoid dropping to last place in the AFC South.

Historically, it's not a great position for the Texans to be in. Only 12% of teams in NFL history who start 0-2 wind up making the playoffs, and only three teams starting 0-2 have gone on to win the Super Bowl, the last being the 2007 New York Giants. Clearly, those aren't numbers that bode well for Houston.

But when asking head coach DeMeco Ryans, he insisted that his group isn't in a hole to start the year following Week 2's loss vs. the Buccaneers. They just have to play better and execute when it matters moving forward.

“It’s no hole,” Ryans said after falling to 0-2 vs. the Buccaneers. “We lost the game. We lost two games, games we should have won. To win games, you got to play better. You got to coach better. It starts with me."

"I've got to coach better. We got to play better and execute better. You've got to go win games. You’re not going to be given games. So, we got to find a way to make those plays.”

It's a simple message from Ryans: everyone has to be better, including himself.

And against the Buccaneers on primetime, the Texans just weren't at the level they needed to be.

The special teams proved to be exemplary, but the offensive line still showed its flaws. The run game never caught fire until the end of the fourth quarter. A defensive fallout in the final two minutes led to Tampa driving down the field, which ended with a Rashaad White touchdown to ice the game. Thus, those multiple errors piled up throughout the night now leave Houston winless through two tries.

"We didn't make the plays we needed to make, and that's the summation of this game," Ryans said. "The NFL is about: it's going to come down to a two-minute drive in the fourth quarter. A lot of guys gave us a chance to win that game. Special teams played outstanding... Guys showed up and made plays to give us an opportunity. Now, how do you capitalize on that? How do you put a team away?"

"We had multiple opportunities to win that game, and we didn't make the plays we needed to make."

Aug 9, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Houston Texans head coach Demeco Ryans looks on during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Following a heartbreaking loss, though, the road ahead does look like a slate Houston could have a perfect chance to redeem themselves. Next up, the Texans head to face an 0-2 Jacksonville squad in Week 3, then have a home contest against the Tennessee Titans in Week 4.

Both are winnable, critical division games that, if capitalized on, can lead to Houston leveling out right back to .500. They'll then face a tough squad in the Baltimore Ravens before heading into the bye week to catch their breath.

It's a set of games that the Texans can certainly take advantage of, but if they continue to falter, they'll have a major mess to clean up in the standings for the rest of the way.

For Ryans, it might not be considered a hole the Texans are forced to climb out of, but the next few weeks ahead of Houston's bye have since become a lot more interesting.

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