LIVE: The Houston Texans address the media after the win over the Jaguars

LIVE: The Houston Texans address the media after the win over the Jaguars

Oh, thank you guys for being here. Just Oh, what a game. First, I have to give glory to God. It’s not about us and praising us for what we do. It’s all glory to God. And I’m just thankful for finding a way to win this game. uh especially coming in with a heavy heart. Uh lost my best friend Earl Cochran. So I know he’s smiling down on us right now. He would be very proud. Two questions. What did he mean to you? How was it to get that win for him? And um what did you what was it that felt like? How about I ask the second question after you answer that one? Okay. Uh you know, first off, he just you talk about a Earl just a standup guy, close friend. I mean, loving, caring, uh, big heart, give the shirt off his back to anybody. Like, he was, uh, just treated people the right way, loved people. Uh, always had a big smile, big heart, very wise. So, I’m just thankful to have had him as a friend here. You all hadn’t finished games this year, but you all were able to do it here. What do you think was key to being able to do that? Yeah, the key for our entire game today is, you know, no one no one blinked. Like I talked to the guys last night about this is it’s going to be a heavyweight fight and we got to keep throwing punch and no matter how it looks. It may look rough, it doesn’t matter. I didn’t I didn’t want anybody to blink. I wanted everybody to continue to press forward to keep punching, right? And that’s what they did coming out in the second half like it’s the best second half we’ve had because we played complimentary football. everything that could go wrong went wrong as soon as the game started. And so for us to battle and have that resilience, like that’s what good football looks like. That’s what we’ve been missing. I told the guys, we’ve been in this situation before in the fourth quarter where we’ve allowed the quarterback to scramble and make a play. So, we knew the Dline had to come up big and and get stops for us and they did that. So, when you have, you know, I can’t say all of that without saying how Davis played. Davis did an outstanding job of leading the offense all week. And he did it again today to come out, have a pick on the first drive, right? It’s easy to go in the tank, but he bounced back. He kept battling, kept making plays, and you know, he goes for three touchdowns and the one rushing one that we needed the most at the end. So, I’m proud of Davis for the way he stepped up, led all week. You’ve been a part of two of the biggest comebacks in franchise history. obviously won against Chargers and obviously today just going to today this was the second at the time for the most biggest comeback this season amongst all NFL teams. What are you feeling having been able to be a part of that? Oh man, my my heart is full. Um I’m so proud of our guys, man, because it’s it’s something we’ve been we’ve been trying to find, right? Is that belief, that resilience that you need. And I’m just so proud of our guys for and not not just the player, I’m proud of the coaches and players. Like I was just asking them all week just to make sure we’re all in this thing together. No matter how the game looks, everybody just stick together, continue to bring positive energy, right? And we finish with the knockout punch there at the end that we needed. Coach, you mentioned the fact about being proud of these guys, but it’s one game, but one game can be pivotal in a season. Do you have to get to the end and finally realize what this game might have meant to this team or just take it for what it’s worth today? Yeah, I take it I take this moment right now and I’m I’m a relish in this moment and love this moment for how our team battle, right? And yes, I hope it’s a hope it’s a springboard for us, you know, moving throughout this season that we continue to see that you guys you can it doesn’t matter, right, what the scoreboard looks like. It’s about how you execute, how you finish, how you play together, and how you have that belief in one another and in yourself, right, to go out and finish games like this. Coach, I also have a two-part question. uh first throughout the week watching film on uh Trevor Lawrence and the Jags offensively, what did you and Coach Burke gain from that film study to be able to kind of take away Trevor Lawrence and the uh rushing impact that the Jags have been able to have on the season uh for them so far and also being down CJ Stout and a lot of the guys that you know how some of the leaders can you speak to how impactful and important Nico College was for today’s victory? Yeah, from the film study, what we saw is main thing we needed to stop the run. We knew they were going to be committed to stopping to to rushing the football. So, we did have to do a good job of stopping it. We didn’t do our best. Like, we could have done much better, but we did enough. All right. And we wanted to be in a position to make them have to throw the football to allow our Dline have to have to get after the quarterback. And that’s what they did. They finished with five sacks. They did an outstanding job. And Denil had one of his best games. So really proud of the effort up front and how those guys rushed and that was our plan and we executed it the right way and when we needed it most there at the end of the game they came up big time for us. Nico has always been a a big part of what we do. Um and he shined today. Davis Nico and Davis have had that connection for a while. So, it’s uh it was fun to see those guys just getting back to what they’ve done before. And Nico just he doesn’t say anything, but he’s one of our hardest workers. No matter how the game goes, he’s always ready for an opportunity to make big plays for us. O, knowing you as a defensive minded coach coming on in, seeing Shelton Rankings be able to put this game away with the defensive touchdown. Just how exciting was it to be able to watch as this defense finally was able to get that crushing crushing blow and put this thing away? Oh man, it’s one of the most exciting plays I’ve been a part of to end a game like that with Rank going in to score. Man, I Wow. It was a It was an awesome play and I was trying to meet him down there in the end zone. Um from your perspective, obviously you guys are down 19 um in the second half that’s obviously able to rise you. How much do you feel like a win like this could turn a tide for a season? Cuz go from three and six to four and five. How much do you feel like a win like this could turn a tie in the season? Yeah, this team, this this this game, all right, should do a lot when guys watch the film and they can see like the things we can even clean up in this game where we weren’t clean or bad things happen. And you know, I just look at the game as I look at life. It’s like bad things are going to happen. Like, do you hang your head and go run and hide? Do you quit? Do you give up? No. Like, you got to keep punching in life, in football, you got to keep punching. And that’s what this game showed today, man. You just have to keep playing with heart, playing with resilience, and hopefully the film shows our guys proof that we can battle and win in any type of game. I think you scored them 26 in the fourth quarter, but at what point did you feel um the tide really changing for you all? Did you feel like you all were going to You always have a chance, but you all were going to make this comeback. I felt like we were actually moving the ball really well and like all day offensively felt like we moved it well. Third downs we were staying on the field and area emphasis that we needed to improve and also in the red zone like just seeing some of the plays Davis made critical third down there backed up. Uh nice throw and catch to to Dalton there towards our sideline. I think seeing the touchdown to Hig right it was just it was play after play that we were the way we ran the football. Thought Woody did a really nice job running the ball. thought we created some displacement up front with our with our offensive line. Just a collective collective effort by everybody doing what they’re supposed to do. We talk about executing all the time when it doesn’t go right. We don’t execute. But that’s what it looks like when we just execute the fundamentals. Kind of following up on Jay with Woody for their impact to see how well they were able to make plays in this game. How impressed you with their maturity to understand what a moment this was to be able to come back. Yeah, our young guys, they continue to impress. Uh Woody, Jaylen, Hig, and Hig. I mean, they’ve they’ve all Jay Nol makes big plays every game. It was fun to see uh Higgins and what he’s capable of doing. Just a big target on the outside going up, you know, making contested catches, doing an outstanding job. You know, he’s done that all year. We just got to find a way to continue to get him the ball. We got playmakers, a lot of guys to spread the ball around, too. And I feel like our quarterback’s done a good job of doing that. Coach, you mentioned some of the 2025 draft class uh players. A lot of guys had some great individual performances today. Can you talk about the rookie left tackle, Arante Ursery? Some of the things that you guys are just seeing from him and how he continues to be uh an ascending player for that offensive line. I can’t say enough about Tay. He’s playing the toughest position in football. Like left tackle, you’re on that island a lot. and to be a rookie in that spot. I mean, from the from the first week till now, like he’s gotten better each week, he’s getting better, right? And he’s doing a great job of, you know, not losing focus. He’s just locked in doing his job the right way and he has that desire. It means a lot to him to protect the quarterback and he’s doing a great job of it. All right. Thank you guys. preparation for today’s game and also being in this situation before for Houston uh having won big games, how we able to kind of shake off the early game blunders to have the performance you had? Yeah, I mean, I’ll start off. I think our team had a really great week of practice. Um, Kaylee put together a great offensive game plan along with the other offensive coaches and uh we were able to go out there today and execute. Um, and then to kind of answer the second part of that, I think anytime you kind of start off a little slow, um, I mean, the mentality of our team is to attack every play, uh, with aggression and just going out there and try to execute every play at a high at a high level. Um, so we were able to do that. Coaches stayed aggressive. I, uh, have always had the mentality to stay confident regardless of what happened on the play before. It’s kind of like the old basketball mentality, shoot or shoot. Um, if you stop, I mean, you’re not going to see shots go in. So, um, I think today was just a great team win. Um, defense was able to keep getting off the field, uh, slow down their offense. Special teams made some plays and, um, as the game went on, our offense kept, uh, getting better and better, and we were able to go down there and find a way to win it at the end. Davis, what did you see on the touchdown run? Yeah, I mean that was kind of had an interview right after the game on the field and we had a uh we ended up calling a play that we had already called in the game. Um they kind of just sat back in zone coverage and as I was getting through my progression um scrambling opened up kind of in the same direction as where uh Woody’s checkown was and as I pushed up in the pocket he ended up making a big time block and I was able to find a way in the end zone. I think coming out of halftime or throughout the game they ended up you guys ended up rotating the um right guard juice got in in the middle of the shift there. Uh did that decision or adjustment kind of help you guys throughout the game? Cuz after that it seemed like the offensive line played a lot cleaner, a lot smoother and you were able to get rhythm and finish drives off of Houston. I mean I think our offensive line did a great job um the whole game. I mean, even when Blake comes in for a lot of the jumbo stuff, uh we were able to run the football uh really efficiently today, especially on those last couple drives when when the team needed it. Um we were able to lean on those guys and march down the field. This is the second largest comeback in franchise history. It’s 26 nothing differential in the fourth quarter. What was the moment that you started to realize that you guys weren’t just putting up points to be able to make this thing close, but it was starting to feel more so we’re going to be able to pull this thing off? I mean, I think the whole team had faith we were going to win that game the entire time. Um, like I said before, I mean, I think our team is very confident in our own abilities. Uh, we have a lot of players who can make plays and, uh, we just needed to get things clicking. And as we, uh, went out there, I think we really only had what, one possession in the third quarter. Um, and went down, were able to drive the ball pretty well in the fourth quarter. And like I said before, defense kept finding ways to get off the field. Uh, Denil was joking around with me in the locker room. He was like, “Our defense is good, man.” And he was like, “Keep finding ways to go down and score points on offense and we’re going to keep getting you guys the ball back.” So, having that in the back of my head and being able to trust the guys around me, especially on the other side of the ball, to go out there and make plays, um, I mean, it was just a hard fought win. It was fun. Um, talking to the guys in the locker room, they all said like nothing surprised them about what they saw from you today because this is who you’ve been. talk about, and you may have already talked about it, how you’ve been able to maintain um in the backup role, the confidence, and just kind of the even keel to to get through the ups and downs. I mean, that’s that’s what you got to do. Um I think with my current circumstance, backing up to CJ, um I come in with the mentality every day that I’m gonna bring my best self to the to the uh facility every morning. I’m going to push everyone around me to be become the best play football player um they can be and I’m going to push myself to become the best football player I can be. Um I mean I’ve had that mentality kind of cool, calm, and collected at all times. I’m I’m here to work and do my job. Um and it was fun. I mean the guys had faith in me that I could go out there and get the job done. Uh but I mean we’ve we’ve done that every single day when we come to work. um continuing to just execute uh the little things and go out there and uh find a way to get a win. It was fun. Catches 135 yards. You’ve been working with him since 2021 when you guys got drafted in the third round together. What does it mean to have a security blanket like Nico Collins that can always go up make big time play and make your job a little bit easier knowing that he is always going to be at the right place at the right time? I mean, it’s it’s a lot of fun. Um Nico’s a playmaker. I think he’s a pretty much a mismatch against everyone they put on the other side. I think a lot of defense is starting to get him into a lot of cloud coverage, double coverage over top of him and they find ways to take him out of the game, but anytime they don’t, um, we’re looking to find a way to get him the ball. Um, and I mean, he’s grown a lot since 2021 when we were rookies. Um, and I I mean, I just wish the best for him and continue to light up the league. Speaking of rookies, can you just the kind of production you’re getting from some of the especially on offense guys continue to step up Marks or Jaden or Jaylen. Yeah, I mean we have a lot of young guys. Um Arante left tackle. I mean he’s played extremely well this whole year. Um and he keeps getting better every week. I think a lot of our young guys have a great mentality where they’re coming to work every week and they they all ask a ton of questions and want to know more about the game of football at the highest level um to continue push themselves to get better. But I mean, yeah, Tay’s done a great job. Uh Jaylen, Jaden, Woody, like I mean, we have a lot of guys contributing who when a young guy comes in, you never want it to seem like there’s a young guy in the football game. Um they they’re out here making plays. They know exactly what their jobs do um is on every play. And I mean it’s fun having them out there in the huddle because they bring some they bring some juice. Thanks.

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