HOUSTON -- When DeMeco Ryans hired Nick Caley to be his offensive coordinator a year ago, the Houston Texans coach cited how the addition would push the team closer to getting "over the hump."
At that point, the Texans' playoff run had just ended in a 23-12 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, and Ryans, who had lost his second straight divisional game, was determined to take the franchise a place it had never been: the AFC Championship Game, and then, hopefully, a Super Bowl.
A year later, Houston found itself in the same position after a third straight loss on the road in cold conditions in the divisional round -- this time falling 28-16 to the New England Patriots last Sunday.
Heading into that game, the Texans were rolling behind one of the league's best defenses. They finished the regular season on a nine-game win streak and had just knocked off the Pittsburgh Steelers 30-6 in the wild-card round, their first road playoff win under Ryans. But quarterback C.J. Stroud struggled against the Patriots. He threw four interceptions in the first half, and Houston fell into a 21-10 hole.
General manager Nick Caserio opened up about the Texans' shortcomings, stating: "In the end, we didn't execute well enough."
"You can't turn the ball over five times in the divisional round," Caserio said. "Taking care of the football is the single most important stat correlated to winning. Look it up. It's the truth. If you don't turn the ball over you enhance your chances of winning -- it's 85, 90%. So, that's the most important stat. Turnovers, taking care of the football. Look around the league.
"If we execute better, we'd still be playing. I'm not trying to oversimplify it, but that's the truth."
In three years under Ryans, Houston has averaged 13.3 points in the divisional round while allowing 28. As for Stroud, he has a QBR of 41, 12th out of 14 eligible players in the divisional round, having thrown one touchdown to four interceptions with a 53.7% completion rate. He has been sacked 11 times and averages 5.9 yards per attempt.
It's a stark contrast from the wild-card round under Ryans, where the Texans are dominant -- averaging 31 points, tied for the most among teams in that span, and 418.5 total yards, third among 17 teams, while allowing nine points per game, the second fewest. The defense has scored five touchdowns in those games and has held opposing quarterbacks to a QBR of 13.
Ryans noted that key players have to step up in these moments and not allow the opposite to happen. Stroud's four interceptions were a career high. Rookie running back Woody Marks lost a fumble on a critical play, the first of his career. All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. got beat in a clutch moment in the fourth quarter, allowing a 32-yard reception to Kayshon Boutte.
"The thing I hope our guys learn is that whenever you're playing a game, it goes down to executing football," Ryans said. "We can make all these stories about this and that, and this person and that person. To me, I hope everybody understands that the reason why you lose the game is if you don't execute in the moment.
"If you don't do your job, if you're not where you're supposed to be, if you don't make great decisions, if you don't protect the football, that's not going to win you football games."
