Texans' DeMeco Ryans Calls Out Costly Penalties in Rams Loss

The Houston Texans wound up falling short of a 1-0 start on Sunday afternoon in their season opener vs. the Los Angeles Rams, losing 9-14 despite their late attempt at a comeback in the fourth quarter.

And throughout the Texans' Week 1 matchup was one significant lapse that held this group back in a major way: an abundance of penalties.

In all, Houston had 11 penalties to their name on Sunday vs. the Rams, giving up a total of 80 yards in a myriad of ways. There was a holding call, a couple of false starts and illegal shifts, a pair of facemask calls, and six of which happened during a first down.

It's mistakes that the Texans simply can't make on a consistent basis. Double-digit penalties don't fare well for any team in the NFL; something that Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans labeled "uncalled for" following Houston's Week 1 loss in LA.

"The penalties are... they're uncalled for," Ryans said at Sunday's post-game presser. "It's all controllable, things we can control... The main thing offensively, we wanted to stay on track. We got some unfortunate penalties that put us behind the sticks, and put us in some really long third downs that we were not able to manage. So, we have to clean up the penalties."

Those penalty troubles on Sunday fit a worrying trend the Texans have faced in recent seasons. In 2024, Houston ranked top-five for most penalties in the league, and reached as high as second in the NFL during the 2023 season.

Across Week 1, only the New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans, and Washington Commanders had more penalties than the Texans.

Sep 7, 2025; Inglewood, California, USA; Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans reacts during the second quarter at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It's easy to overreact to the first week of the season. The Texans also had multiple issues and injuries to account for on their already shaken-up offensive line to make their day harder, and ultimately tougher to stay consistently buttoned up in the penalty department. But nonetheless, if this Houston roster wants to hit their aspired ceiling in 2025, this group on both ends of the field has to be much more disciplined moving forward.

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