Everything Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said after Week 18's win vs. Colts

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Here's everything Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said following Week 18's 38-30 win over the Indianapolis Colts, including the call to play backups in the second half, a 12-win campaign and early thoughts on the wild-card round road trip.

Opening Statement: First off, as always for me, what an awesome game. All glory and praise goes to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Thankful for such an incredible regular season. Our guys were able to accomplish a lot of great things no matter how dim it looked to start the season. I’m proud of our guys continuing to battle every single week, finding a way to win games and to now finish on a high note winning here versus a really good team, I’m really proud of our guys.

Question: On if he found himself paying attention to the score of the Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Tennessee Titans game

DeMeco Ryans: “Of course, I saw the score of the game and Jacksonville was up. We got a few guys out, I guess. That's the whole thing about… Everybody talking about resting starters. It's hard to take everybody out. You only get 48 guys to go play on game day, so it's hard to take everybody out. But when we saw where they [the Jacksonville Jaguars] were in that game and they were up and had a pretty big lead. So, I pulled out selected guys when I could.”

Q: On DT Tommy Togiai scoring a touchdown on the final play

Ryans: “That was a huge moment for our team. A fitting way to end the game. Thought we would get Tommy… I told him on Friday that the team is going to go crazy when Tommy scores a touchdown. We thought he was going to get in earlier in the game, but he didn't. But to close it out the way he did, getting in the end zone, that's why you saw our entire sideline running down, celebrating with Tommy. Fitting for a guy who does everything the right way, everything you ask a guy to do. He's a coach's dream. He's always in the right place, always doing what you ask him to do. Very cool way for him to have that clutch moment and end the game with a touchdown.”

Q: On QB Davis Mills leading the team on a game-winning drive

Ryans: “When Davis went in there, I knew we were a little bit ahead of the two-minute warning there at the end. Told the guys, ‘It's time for a little Mills Magic.’ That's what he's done before. We've seen him lead our team to victory there in two-minute situations. Everyone was calm in the moment, understanding we knew Davis would be able to make the plays to get us down. We wanted to get in range there to hit the field goal and Davis did exactly that. We threw the ball, ran the ball, whatever we needed to do to gain yards. Davis was able to execute the offense in such a great manner to put us in a position to win the game.”

Q: On if a back-and-forth game like this helps as the team heads into the playoffs

Ryans: “As I told the guys after the game, we’ve been in all sorts of games. You name it. What I'm most proud of is our guys find a way to finish, no matter if it's like it was today, in that fashion where you need a drive at the end. A two-minute [drive], you need to close it out, we can go do that. We're not shying away from any of those moments. That's the game of football. You're never going to line up and blow everybody out. That's not realistic. You've got to persevere no matter how it looks. You keep persevering and keep making winning plays throughout the game, you'll end up on top.”

Q: On how he thought the offense performed in the first half

Ryans: “How many points did we have? We had over 30 points. Again, I thought our offense did enough to get us down, score points. Shoutout to ‘Imi’ [Ka’imi Fairbairn]. We can't be where we are right now without 'Imi’ and what he's been capable of doing. To hit six field goals today, tied for his career high, tied for the most field goals in NFL history in a season. A lot of times, I tell our guys, ‘You take for granted when you have such a great kicker who can secure you points, even if things don't go your way in the red zone.’ You want to score touchdowns every single drive, but it doesn't happen. You get in range, and you got a sure-footed kicker who can make those points. We are so thankful for 'Imi’ and how he consistently has performed throughout this entire year.”

Q: On if things shift as the team gets ready for the playoffs

Ryans: “Nothing shifts for us when it comes to our mindset. Our mindset never changes. We don't turn it up because we're in the playoffs. We continue to grind out, put the work in, do what we have to do to practice really well throughout the week. No matter who our opponent is, we got to have a great week of practice and that shows up whenever that game is. How we work throughout the week, it'll show up then. Our process and mindset doesn't change.”

Q: On how pleased he was with WR Xavier Hutchinson and the other wide receivers

Ryans: “All the guys did a great job at the receiver position. When they had their number called, all the guys did a great job catching the football, running after the catch and making plays. ‘Hutch’ [Xavier Hutchinson] made a play. ‘Higg’ [Jayden Higgins] was able to get a touchdown for us. Dalton [Schultz], what a one-handed catch he made on third down. Multiple guys stepped up and made plays for us.”

Q: On if the goal was to give DT Tommy Togiai the ball on QB C.J. Stroud’s rushing touchdown

Ryans: “The goal was to score, baby. Touchdown.”

This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Everything Texans HC DeMeco Ryans said after Week 18's win vs. Colts

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