What did Texans HC DeMeco Ryans say before playoff game vs. Steelers?

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Here's everything Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said ahead of Monday's wild-card round matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, including the growth of defensive Danielle Hunter, playing on the road in the wild-card round, C.J. Stroud's approach to the postseason, the return of rookie defensive back Jaylen Reed and more.

Question: On DE Danielle Hunter

DeMeco Ryans: “Danielle has meant everything to our defensive success. With him, we added a guy to our team as a free agent two years ago who already had success as a pass rusher when he was in Minnesota [Vikings]. He was always getting after the quarterback, double-digit sack guy. So, to add him with a young guy in [DE] Will [Anderson Jr.], we added a guy who not only is productive, but he's also a selfless guy who is willing to teach the other young guys how it's done, how he's had success in his career. That's the biggest thing that I've seen from him is his willingness to share the gift that he has and his little tricks of the trade and how he can beat guys on a consistent basis. Him sharing that information has helped a lot of our guys have some success.”

Q: On the growth of the offensive line this season

Ryans: “Our offensive line has done a good job. I feel like our group has improved throughout the year. The main thing when you look at it, we've done a really great job of protecting our quarterback. That was the main emphasis coming into this year: can we upgrade in that area of protecting our quarterback better, keeping him off the ground? We've done that.”

Q: On S Jaylen Reed returning to practice

Ryans: “We're excited to get Jaylen back. We activated his window, so he started back practicing today. We'll see how the week goes and see how he can help us.”

Q: On the Pittsburgh Steelers rushing attack

Ryans: “When you first pop on the film watching the Steelers, the thing that jumps out the most is their running back position. They have two guys, [Jaylen] Warren, who you watch him run the football, it's really impressive to see a young guy run the ball the way he runs the ball. He's a small guy, but he's tough. He's physical. He runs it really well. [Kenneth] Gainwell, another receiver that steps in, he's done a really great job as well running the football, but the thing where they make a lot of plays is both backs, whichever guy is in, what they do with the ball in their hand once the ball is out. Aaron's done a great job of not making bad plays. He gets the ball to his check-down very quickly. Those guys make some productive plays off of catching the ball behind the line of scrimmage. They make a lot of guys miss tackles. They both have really good contact balance. They have the speed, the toughness, the physicality to really gain yards after the catch. They're topping the league at receiving yards after the catch. It'll be a tough challenge to get these guys on the ground. It's going to take everybody from our defensive line coming out of the stack, our second-level guys, really securing the tackles as best we can.”

Q: On of he thinks his team is built for tough environments

Ryans: “Our team is ready to go anywhere, anytime, anyplace. We're ready to go.”

Q: On if the team is aware of the conditions of an opponents playing surface and how to prepare for it

Ryans: “We make sure we're prepared in all facets of the game. We do our preparation. It's not just the film and the plays and what we run, but we'll do our thing when it comes to preparing for the weather, for the field, all those things. Our equipment staff is well-versed in those areas to get us everything that we need to be ready to go.”

Q: On Pittsburgh Steelers WR D.K. Metcalf

Ryans: “Metcalf gives them their full offense. He lines up as an outside receiver. He does an outstanding job of playing physically. That’s the one thing that sticks out to me with him, is that he’s a physical receiver, whether he’s running the go ball, slants, whatever. He plays physical. So, we have to challenge him. We have to step up to the challenge there, we have to play physical versus him as well. It's going to be a tough challenge. He's done a great job his entire career of making big plays down the field. I know they're excited to get him back because he's such a huge part of their offense. [Pittsburgh Steelers QB] Aaron [Rodgers] will definitely look to go to him a ton. We have our hands full when it comes to challenging him and trying to make a play when the ball is up.”

Q: On the chess match with Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers

Ryans: “Aaron had a ton of success in this league. As I mentioned earlier, he’s one of the best quarterbacks to play this game. He’s that way for a reason. He’s a very smart guy and does a really good job of taking a couple plays to the line of scrimmage and trying to get them into the most advantageous play when he sees the defense and he sees what he's facing and he sees a weakness of where he can get the ball out quick, that's where he's going to go with the football. For us, it's not so much of a chess match. Defensively, we know he's going to figure out what you're doing, how you're disguising, all those things. It's going to be about us collectively as a team, not just about Aaron Rodgers. It's our defense versus their offense. They have a ton of playmakers who Aaron gets the ball to that do a really great job in space of making guys miss. We have to do a great job of tackling whoever gets the football.”

Q: On how the approach to the game changes from the regular season to the playoffs

Ryans: “This game here is a really great matchup because when you watch the [Pittsburgh] Steelers and you watch the Texans, you're going to get two physical football teams. It's going to be old school football. It's going to be physical on both sides. I can't get more excited about it because that's the thing that stands out. Coach [Mike] Tomlin has always done an outstanding job with this team. He had a ton of success for a reason. They play the right way. They play complimentary football in all three phases. They're a special teams unit. They're physical. They're aggressive. Offensively, they do a great job of run blocking, pass blocking. They have physical linemen up front who sustain blocks well. Defensively, their defensive line is probably one of the best units in the league. Not a lot of credit goes to the edge players, but their three interior guys are disruptive players. Big guys who do a great job of getting off blocks, disrupting in the run game. It's a physical game. If you like football, that's what you should be about. I'm about that and I'm ready to get after it.”

Q: On the growth of WR Jayden Higgins

Ryans: “Higgins has grown a lot. We try to move him around the formation a lot. He's done a great job in the classroom, being prepared to handle different positions at different times. He's a really smart young player. We put a lot on his plate, and he can handle it really well. He can go out, and he can make big plays for us the same as Nico [Collins] has done for us. To be a young player and grow as much as he's grown throughout the season, I couldn't be more proud of what he's done.”

Q: On whether the Pittsburgh Steelers offense has evolved due to the additions of Pittsburgh Steelers Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith and Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers

Ryans: “For me, as I study the Steelers, that's what I focus on. It's the Steelers and what they've done this year. They're a really well-coached team when it comes to the run game, the way they target their offensive line, the way they utilize their jumbo package, bringing extra alignment in. They utilize their personnel really well, whether it's 11, 12, 13, they'll vary their personnel groupings to keep you off balance a little bit, so you don't know what you're going to get based on personnel. They've done a really great job of balancing and mixing it up. They also mix in some of the things that Aaron has always done well in his career. When you spread the formations out, he can see the defense, and he can pick and choose where he wants to go with the football. That's always been an element of Aaron and what he's capable of doing.”

Q: On what QB C.J. Stroud’s previous playoff experience does for his confidence

Ryans: “I know a lot gets made about playoff experience. For what it's worth, it's about going and winning a game. It's about going out and playing good football. That's what it's about. The game doesn't change. It's the playoffs. We know what's at stake here, win or go home, but we just have to go out and play the game that we've been playing. C.J. continues to play well, protect the football, do a great job of distributing. The ball is set to go to different people at different times. If he does a great job of distributing and doing what he needs to do, playing the quarterback position at an elite level, what he's done his entire career, he does that, plays well for us, we'll be in a good spot.”

Q: On how much of the one-game-at-a-time message will be carried over into the playoffs

Ryans: “For this week, it's very easy for the messaging this week. It's not a ton of changing up the message or switching what we have to do or making it bigger than what it is. Everybody in our locker room understands what's at stake, what's on the line. We've been here before. We understand that. At the end of the day, as I always talk about with our guys, it's going to be about your focus, your preparation, and how you go out and execute. If you do that the right way, then everything else will take care of itself, but we don't need to make the game bigger than what it is. It's still football. They snap it. We've still got to go play fast and physical and make plays.”

Q: On if DT Tommy Togiai will get snaps at FB

Ryans: “Can't give all our secrets away, but you never know. You never know what could happen.”

Q: On QB C.J. Stroud’s preparation and mindset this postseason versus his previous two seasons

Ryans: “I think C.J. is as prepared as anybody. He’s locked in and he’s focus, he’s ready for this moment. He had a really great day of practice today. He led the team very well and he commanded the offense really well, threw it really well today. So, he’s doing all the things it takes for him to play the quarterback position well, and that’s all he needs to do.”

Q: On if he had a moment this season where the team learned how to win

Ryans: “As our season has gone on, you win games in a multitude of different fashions. I think our guys found that. I think early in the season we didn’t protect the ball well. We didn’t get off the field in critical situations defensively. As the season has went on I've seen our offense grow where we're able to close games out in the fourth quarter. I've seen our defense grow where it's fourth quarter, game is on the line, we've stepped up, those guys have made plays in those critical moments. The playoffs won't be any different. It'll be about how do you operate in those critical moments, the third down, the red area, two minute [drill]. Are you operating efficiently in those moments? Are you making the stops that you need to make defensively in those moments? Our guys have been there. We've done it. We’re going against a really tough opponent that's going to be a really tough challenge for us. We've got to bring everything that we have to go get this one.”

This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: What did Texans HC DeMeco Ryans say before playoff game vs. Steelers?

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