DeMeco Ryans Shares Texans’ Approach to Short Week vs. Bills

The Houston Texans have a short turnaround before they get the motions of Week 13 off and rolling.

Set to take the primetime stage on their home field for Thursday Night Football against the Buffalo Bills, the Texans have just three full days before getting back in the action from their previous outing against the Tennessee Titans.

The short turnaround for a Thursday game can be a bit of a challenge for any team, and the Texans are no exception to that rule. However, head coach DeMeco Ryans certainly won't be using the limited days off as an excuse for what's set to be a critical game against Buffalo.

For Ryans, the message is simple for his team heading into their matchup vs. the Bills: don't talk about the short week.

"The short week is, for me, what I've learned most is: don't talk about how much of a short week it is," Ryans said heading into the Texans' matchup vs. Buffalo.

"Like... yeah, it's short, we get it. Like, let's wrap it up, and let's go.  Everybody has the same amount of time. Let's do what we have to do to go out and have ourselves physically and mentally prepared to go play."

The short week certainly makes things a bit tougher than usual for the Texans, especially when factoring in the lingering concussions of C.J. Stroud and Jalen Pitre that, while going through the NFL's protocol, could be primed to miss their third-straight game this coming week.

However, the Bills are dealing with the same set of circumstances as the Texans, and in their case, might have things a bit tougher when factoring in their road trip to Houston in that same timeframe.

DeMeco Ryans Looking Forward to Challenge vs. Bills

Oct 26, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans head coach Demeco Ryans stands on the sidelines during the second half against the San Francisco 49ers at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sean Thomas-Imagn Images | Sean Thomas-Imagn Images

So for Ryan’s, he and his guys can't hang on to the fact that it's a short week. Instead, the preparation is on as soon as possible, especially against a talented team like the Bills have proven to be for a number of seasons.

"The Bills are a really, really good team. Coach McDermott done a great job since he's been there, they're always a contender.  They play great defense, they have a great quarterback in Josh Allen, can make any type of play you need him to make."

"So it's a challenging opponent coming up. on Thursday for us. We're up for the challenge, as always, as every opponent. So we're looking forward to it."

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Ryans is clearly confident riding into what could be a third-straight win on the season if the cards fall in his favor, and could even be done without Houston's starting signal caller Davis Mills.

The Texans have proven capable of being able to fight their way through an uphill battle throughout their previous 12 weeks, that's now gotten them to their long-awaited .500 record for the first time this season. That mindset is bound to carry over into Thursday night if Ryans and Co. want the success flowing.

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