Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans took to the podium with good things to say about their starting offensive line following their preseason-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday night.
Things took a turn after that, though, with Ryans delivering a strong reality check about the contest, as well as an ominous injury update.
The Texans saw a trio of players exit early, but Ryans had unfortunate news on one in particular.
The Texans missed several tackles during the game, with the commentatorsâwhich included former Houston defensive lineman N.D. Kaluâmaking note of the uncharacteristic sloppiness, even for the Texans backups.
Ryans certainly noticed the Texans did not have their standard âstyle of play.â
âOverall, it was some positive things there early on,â Ryans told reporters postgame. âJust collectively, thatâs not our style of play. And so, a lot for us to improve on.â
Ryans later said, âI really want to go back and really dive into the film, to really get a great evaluation of all the guys here. But I like we had a lot of different guys playing tonight. So, we rolled a lot of guys in. A lot of guys got valuable playing time. So for me, I have to really go and watch it to see who I can single out from them, doing a really good job.
âOverall, again, it was it was some positive things. But anytime youâI tell our guys, anytime you suit up and youâre competing, you want to win the football game. No matter whoâs out there, you want to compete to win. So, it didnât go our way, but itâs still a lot for us to learn and grow from.â
The defeat was bad enough, but Ryans also provided a dour injury update.
âFor the update on Mertz, he was running there towards the opponentâs sideline,â Ryans said. âAnd, unfortunately, non-contact. And I think heâll beâweâre evaluating him right now. Itâs looking at a knee injury, ACL. So, weâll see, get that update to see what happens.â
Mertz is one of three Texans QBs. They are down to C.J. Stroud, who did not play in the contest, and backup Davis Mills, who started against the Chargers and replaced Mertz.
The Texans are likely to at least explore QB options this week.
If Mertzâs injury is confirmed as an ACL tear, it will be a season-ender. That would all but guarantee Ryans and the Texans searching the market for a replacement, even if only for the rest of the preseason.
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