DeMeco Ryans Explains How Texans Stifled Derrick Henry
In the midst of the Houston Texans' dominant 44-10 victory over the injury-hobbled Baltimore Ravens, their defense held down star running back Derrick Henry to a limited day on the ground.
Henry finished the day with 15 carries, 33 yards, and a goal line touchdown for his fourth-straight game of logging just 50 yards or less on the ground, and averaging his second-lowest yards-per-carry of the season with 2.2.
The Texans knew that keeping Henry in check would be a defining factor to get a win on the board. Head coach DeMeco Ryans even called it Houston's main goal defensively: stopping the run.
"For us defensively, that was our main goal; we knew we had to stop the run." DeMeco Ryans said after the Texans' Week 5 win. "We knew Derrick Henry would get more touches, he would try to get more opportunities."
Instead of letting Henry run wild like he did during the Texans' previous meeting last Christmas Day, where he had over 150 all-purpose yards and a touchdown, Houston flipped the script this time around. A key emphasis of that shift, in Ryan’s mind, came down to tackling.
"Our guys did a really nice job, starting up front with our defensive line," Ryans said. "Our tackles played really well, our ends set the edge, and we tackled really well."
"Just watching it from the sideline, I felt us tackle much better as a team. It was multiple guys at the ball every single time they ran the ball."
The historic win in Baltimore wound up being the Texans' best performance of the season for rushing yards allowed and yards per carry— continuing the trend of Houston's roster proving to be better every week on both ends of the ball.
A nightmarish start to the season for the Texans now has new life heading into the Week 6 bye, and an operation that Ryans wants to see keep improving moving forward.
"One thing I impore our team about is just, let's just get better. Like, each and every week, let's just get a little bit better each and every week, and our team will continue to get stronger."
CJ Stroud, DeMeco Ryans Use Post Game Press Conferences to Shout Out Texans O-Line
After the 34-point win, both CJ Stroud and DeMeco Ryans used their time with reporters to give the Texans offensive line their flowers. In fact, praise for his offensive line was the first thing out of Stroud's mouth.
"Our O linemen did a great job and that's where it starts, I think," Stroud said after the game. "I'm one of the best when I get the time and I can deal it out. Our O line did amazing this game and when that happens, (offensive coordinator Nick Caley) is calling a great game and our receivers are running really good routes. We've been getting better at practice every week and I think that's where you see the growth, but it really starts with them."
Later in the press conference, Stroud would go on to shout out each of his offensive tackles individuallly.
"Tae (Aireontae Ersery) has done a great job. First and foremost, his mentality, his effort, he has God-given talent. It just takes some plays," Stroud said. "I think he's done a great job of just weathering the storm, staying committed, staying rooted in what he believes in and that's himself. I'm super grateful that he's on our team. He's going to be a great player in this league. And the rest of our O line does a great job… Tytus (Howard) has been huge. I think he's been playing at an All-Pro level, Pro Bowl level, He looks great, he's holding it down on the right."
Howard and Ersery are ranked 28th and 57th respectively among all qualified tackles according to Pro Football Focus.
Ryans had more to add during his time speaking with the media, noting that it was the group's efforts in the running game that allowed the Texans to rush for a season-high 167 yards on Sunday afternoon.
"I thought our offensive line did a really nice job of protecting," Ryans added. "CJ had a lot of time in the pocket to make those decisions and make the good throws that he made, so really proud of those guys. Also, running the football, we were able to run for over 160 yards. For us to run the ball that way, it's a credit to our offensive line. It all starts there, tight ends, receivers everybody getting involved in blocking and staying with it and our backs did another great job again this week."
Patrick Mahomes’ history on Monday Night Football is bad news for the Jaguars

After a slow, 0-2 start to the season, the Kansas City Chiefs will be looking for their third-straight win when they take the field on Monday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Playing on Monday, in primetime, is a different wrinkle for most teams, but not so much for the Chiefs, who live in primetime. Kansas City has been hard to beat on Monday nights, and that’s especially the case with Mahomes in the lineup.
Patrick Mahomes hasn’t lost much since taking over as the starter for the Chiefs, but on Monday Night Football. He has been especially dominant. In 12 Monday games with Mahomes under center, the Chiefs are 9-3. Mahomes will enter the Week 5 game on a two-game winning streak on Mondays, but two of his three Monday Night Football losses came in the two games before the start of the streak.
Patrick Mahomes will try to add to his elite Monday Night Football resume
Mahomes wasn’t just a part of these wins, he has played elite in them. In the 12 games, he has 3,411 yards, 27 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. That breaks down to 284 passing yards a game. On Monday nights, Mahomes has four games with over 400 yards, including the 478-yard, six-touchdown performance in the instant classic against the Los Angeles Rams. Unfortunately, Mahomes also threw three interceptions in that game, and Kansas City lost 54-51.
Monday’s game against the Jaguars probably won’t have that kind of output, but the Chiefs will be hoping to come out on top. Jacksonville will enter the game at 3-1, and could easily be 4-0. The Jaguars have a good offense and defense, and their defense is especially aggressive, leading the league with 13 takeaways entering Week 5. Mahomes and the Chiefs will have to protect the football to keep up their dominance on Monday Night Football.