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Everything Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said following preseason game 1 vs Chargers
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- Everything Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said following preseason game 1 vs Chargers
Here's everything Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said following Thursday's 27-7 preseason loss to the Los Angeles Chargers , including his thoughts on the debut of tight end Marlin Klein and an injury update on quarterback Graham Mertz .
Aug 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans looks up at the scoreboard while the Houston Texans play the Los Angeles Chargers in the second half at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Question: On rookies who got their first action against the Los Angeles Chargers
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DeMeco Ryans :"For our rookies, I think a few guys had really good outings, just from being on the sidelines watching.
"I'll start first off with Marlin Klein. I thought he really shined today. Everybody saw the pass that he caught. That's where I see he can excel for our offense and just open the offense up for us. His catch radius, it's tough to guard him. He definitely has the speed as well to run away from guys.
"So, he stood out to me, not only just the catching, but watching him in line blocking in the running game. I saw him finishing some blocks there exactly how we want it done. So, a ton of positives there for him. Any time we take the football away, I think Kamari Ramsey did a good job getting the interception there. I thought we should have had a few more that we let go through our hands.
"I thought the backs ran well. Noah Whittington did a good job of running the football. Lewis Bond, getting him back doing some punt returning, I thought there was a lot of positives there for him. Something we can definitely continue to work more and he can improve on. As we started the game with our first unit, our offensive line, I thought they did a really nice job. That first drive, just having a positive drive. Driving down and getting the score. Jared Wayne showed up making a lot of good plays. Davis [Mills] made some good decisions there. Overall, there were some positive things there early on, but just collectively, it's not our style of play. A lot for us to improve upon."
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Q: On the offensive line that started the game
Ryans: "They needed to go out and play together, and they did a really nice job with what we gave them. We gave them 10 to 15 reps, and those guys did a good job with those reps."
Aug 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans tight end Marlin Klein (83) runs after the catch against Los Angeles Chargers safety Genesis Smith (22) in the first quarter at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
(Thomas Shea, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Q: On the expectations of TE Marlin Klein dating back to the NFL Draft
Ryans:"We expect that, and even he has more as well. I think this is just the start of Marlin Klein as he continues to grow and learn how we're doing things. He's a really good athlete, and he's strong and physical at the line of scrimmage. That's what we saw from the Michigan tape, and that's what he's been showing all Training Camp."
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Q: On DT Kayden McDonald
Ryans:"I'll have to look at the film to see it up close and see how he did. Overall, I thought we got him some good valuable reps. He needs to get as many reps as possible to continue to improve his game and improve our style of play."
Aug 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Graham Mertz (18) at the line of scrimmage during the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Q: On the injury update for QB Graham Mertz
Ryans:"For the update on Mertz, he was running towards the opponent's sideline and unfortunately was non-contact. We're evaluating him. Right now, he's looking at a knee injury, ACL. We'll get that update and see what happens."
Q: On what he wants to take away from the game film
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Ryans:"I really want to go back and really dive into the film to really get a great evaluation of all of the guys. What I liked, we had a lot of different guys playing tonight. We rolled a lot of guys in, and a lot of guys got valuable playing time. For me, I have to really go and watch it to see who I can single out from them doing a really good job. Overall, again, it was some positive things. I tell our guys, any time you suit up and you're competing, you want to win the football game. No matter who's out there, you want to compete to win. So it didn't go our way, but there's still a lot for us to learn and grow from."
Aug 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans hugs Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh after a preseason game at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
Q: On the style of play he wanted to see
Ryans:"The style of play that I wanted to see, I wanted to see us play physical- and I did not see that the entire game. There were some glimpses of us playing physical, but the Chargers, they out physicaled us the entire game. It was not our brand of football. When I speak of playing our style, that's a physical brand of football, and that was not up to par tonight."
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Q: On QB Davis Mills
Ryans:"The backup quarterback is a very valuable position, and Davis has done a good job of just always being ready. Whenever his number is called, he's ready to step up, and not just step up just to be out there, he's out there, and he can make positive plays for us as we saw him do through this past season where we were able to get on a winning streak there. Davis was the guy who sparked us. He's a very valuable guy to have around, and we're happy to have him."
Aug 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans wide receiver Jared Wayne (89) makes a reception for a touchdown as Los Angeles Chargers cornerback Avery Smith (36) defends during the third quarter at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Q: On WR Jared Wayne's ability to make plays
Ryans:"Not surprising from Jared Wayne. He does it in practice all the time. For him to go out there and make the plays he made tonight, I'm happy for Jared because he's put in that work and he's done it on the practice field. He's a tough cover always for our guys, and I'm happy that he was able to put that on display tonight."
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Q: On the importance of having physical cornerbacks
Ryans:"For us defensively, you have to be able to set the edge, and it's not just defensive ends that set the edge. Our corners are going to get challenged a lot because our defensive ends are getting a lot of attention from opposing offenses. When that ball pops on the outside, corners have to step up and be physical and you have to tackle in this defense because you're going to get a ton of opportunities, probably different than other schemes, but in our scheme, corners are going to get challenged. That's tackling and also get challenged down the field. You have to have that mental fortitude as a corner to be able to cover, but also physical enough to step up and tackle whoever has the football and 'Jayroc' [ Jaylin Smith ] did a really nice job there on their sideline of making a physical hit."
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said following preseason game 1 vs Chargers
