Sunday's loss to Jacksonville hurts. But don't expect the Texans to wallow in it.
Houston was defeated, 24-21, by the Jaguars at NRG Stadium. It was the first time both teams met in the month of November or later when each had winning records. A would-be game-tying Matt Ammendola 58-yard field goal attempt bounced off the crossbar with 0:29 left in regulation.
"Guys just have to come to work, like I told them," Head Coach DeMeco Ryans said. "We were close there for this game. It's how you respond. It's how you come back to work throughout the week."
The loss snapped a 3-game win streak, and dropped Houston's record to 6-5 on the season. But with six games remaining, quarterback C.J. Stroud is ready to keep fighting.
"It's a long season, man," Stroud said. "It's about the mindset, though. What are we going to do? Not play any more? We're just going to tuck our tail and not play hard? No, I don't really believe in that type of mindset. I'm going out there every play every game trying to win."
Wide receiver Nico Collins, who finished with seven catches for 104 yards and a touchdown, is in season three with the Texans. After the previous two each ended in 13 losses, Collins remains energized by playing for a chance to get into the postseason.
"It's big time," Collins said. "I feel like around this time is what matters the most. Winning in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Between that little time frame, it's huge in the league. We got to continue to chase our end goal and continue to be great."
The next chance to win is this Sunday when the Texans host Denver. Defensive end Will Anderson, Jr., who finished with a tackle for loss and four tackles on the day, explained what must happen between now and then.
"We just have to go back to the drawing board, get these things corrected and get it fixed and get ready to move on to the Broncos," Anderson said. "Just keep 'doing us' better. Keep getting better day in and day out. I don't think we really need to switch anything up besides just cutting down on the penalties, cutting down on the mistakes."
Receiver Tank Dell agreed.
"We can't live in the past," Dell said. "The game just happened. It's over with. We got to go to work, get ready for Denver."
The Texans last faced the Broncos in Week 2 of 2022 in Denver.
