What Texans' DeMeco Ryans Said After Frustrating Week 10 Loss to Browns

The Houston Texans dropped a pivotal Week 10 road matchup against the Cleveland Browns for a 24-27 loss, now dropping this team to a less-than-ideal 3-6 record after nine games on the season.

And after the game, we got to hear from DeMeco Ryans and some of his thoughts from the Texans' sixth loss of the season, explaining what went wrong this weekend, and what will need to be fixed moving forward for Houston to get their playoff aspirations back on track.

Nov 15, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. Mandatory Credit: Scott Galvin-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Let's sort through seven of the most notable quotes from Ryans' post-game presser:

Opening Thoughts; Penalties Are the Biggest Takeaway

Of the biggest takeaways that Ryan gathered from the Texans' loss to open his presser, their 13 team penalties remained a key reason as to attribute the end result to–– as has been the story many times before this season.

"Yeah, it goes back to we can't hurt ourselves when you have 13 penalties, especially there late in the game. We need to move the football, and we get penalties on special teams, penalties offensively, penalties on defense. All three phases had critical penalties that hurt us."

Feelings on the Kamari Lassiter Penalty

Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter was called for a pivotal, controversial unnecessary roughness penalty during the Browns' final offensive drive of the game. When DeMeco Ryans was asked about the said call, he didn't seem to fully agree with the call on the field.

"I saw Kamari going up for the football. Nothing was intentional there by Kamari. He's going up for the football, and I have to look at it and see how that is a penalty on him."

Kamari Lassiter has had some terrible calls against him this year pic.twitter.com/WrGwzAH3ls
— Nick Schwager (@nick__schwager) November 15, 2026

Thoughts on Quinshon Judkins' Game-Winning TD

When it comes to what Ryan saw on the Browns' game-sealing touchdown run from Quinshon Judkins, he was keen on the defense's need to be better tackling.

"Yeah, we're trying to stop him right there. We got to play better run defense, got to tackle better. We got to stop it better, play better, run defense, be stout there, and get get a stop."

Quinshon Judkins gives the Browns the lead with 53 seconds to go!

HOUvsCLE on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/lxgi0XZEWS
— NFL (@NFL) November 15, 2026

What Shifted Texans' Momentum Down the Stretch

The Texans' second half was a totally different feeling than the first on both sides of the ball.

What was the difference for the Texans and their momentum? Ryan highlighted the Browns' ability to get the ball out fast, Houston's excessive penalties, and the disparity of third downs that turned the tides in the second half of action.

"Yeah, they got the ball out quick. They hit an explosive on us earlier in the game. They hit an explosive. We can be better there with how we played."

"And, you know, overall, they started to get the ball out quicker and make some plays. Deshaun made some plays running around on the edge. But the game, to me, really came down to the penalties, right? Thirteen penalties. Then it came down to third down, right? We only converted, I think, three third downs, and they were seven of 15."

"So some of those third-and-medium plays that they were able to convert and stay on the field, we didn't get stops, and vice versa. Our offense didn't convert enough third downs to stay on the field to really get drives sustained and keep the ball moving. So that's where the game kind of tilted in their favor."

Feelings on C.J. Stroud's Performance

Despite a poor second half from C.J. Stroud and the Texans' passing offense, Ryans still saw some positives from his performance thanks to his ability to make plays under pressure.

"Yeah, I thought C.J. still made some plays, even with the pressure that was on him. I thought he was still able to move around in the pocket and scramble and run to get a first down a couple times. And, you know, he kept plays alive even though there was a lot of pressure."

"He didn't take a lot of sacks. So I'm still happy with how he played and happy with the decisions that he was able to make."

How the Texans Can Turn Around Quickly for TNF

The Texans have a quick four-day turnaround before they're tasked with their upcoming matchup vs. the Indianapolis Colts.

As to how Ryan’s is going to prepare his group for the task ahead, moving on quickly remains the main idea.

"Hey, you got to move on quickly. We can't dwell on this. We know the issues that we have. We look at it, starting with everybody looking at themselves first and seeing where we can be better, and we move on. Got a good coached team coming in on Thursday night."

Sign up for our free Houston Texans On SI newsletter, and get breaking Texans news delivered to your inbox daily!

Add us as a preferred source on Google