John McClain, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, is in his 48th year of covering the NFL in Houston, including 45 seasons at the Houston Chronicle.
A good thing to come out of Saturday's 27-19 loss at Kansas City is the Texans knowing they don't have time to think about it because they've already turned their attention to Wednesday, Christmas Day, when they host the Ravens in another nationally televised afternoon game.
Losing another one-score game was tough enough to stomach, but losing three starters – receiver Tank Dell (knee), right guard Shaq Mason (knee) and safety Jimmie Ward (foot) – was disheartening.
Dell suffered a dislocated kneecap, according to multiple reports, and was having his best game of the season with six catches for 98 yards and a touchdown before being lost in the third quarter.
Dell started the Texans' second and last touchdown drive with a 12-yard punt return to the 50. On second-and-7 at the Kansas City 30, C.J. Stroud launched a perfect pass into the back of the end zone, where Dell caught it for the touchdown.
Receiver Jared Wayne, who was also trying to make the catch, collided with Dell's knee as both were going down. Somehow, Dell managed to hang on to the ball before rolling over and grabbing his knee. He stayed down, and a hush came over the Arrowhead Stadium crowd.
Stroud, Wayne and Dell's teammates and coaches were distraught. Players from both teams prayed for him. He was immediately taken to a local hospital before returning to Houston on Sunday.
"You take a step back and think about Tank (and) think about Jared and all the guys involved on that play," Head Coach DeMeco Ryans said Sunday. "It's tough for everybody to see anybody hurt.
"It's deeper than football. We're talking about real people who have real emotions and real feelings (and) who are going through a tough time right now. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in that situation."
Wayne, who was elevated from the practice squad on Friday, had to be consoled by his teammates.
"Jared was in a difficult spot emotionally, as anyone would be," Ryans said. "It's a tough spot to be in. Football's a lot of unpredictable movements (and) a lot of things happen fast (because) guys play fast and understand it's the unfortunate part of what we do."
Ryans thanked the Chiefs' doctors and the Kansas City medical staff.
"They did an unbelievable job," he said. "Very thankful for Kansas City's entire organization and their medical team."
During his session with the media, Ryans talked about the Chiefs' defeat and the quick turnaround before playing the Ravens at NRG Stadium, but Dell's touchdown and injury kept coming up because of what he's gone through since being drafted in the third round after an exceptional career at the University of Houston.
As a rookie last season, Dell suffered a season-ending fractured fibula while blocking against the Broncos on Dec. 3. During the offseason, he was at an event in Florida, where he suffered a gunshot wound, despite being an innocent bystander.
NBC, which televised the game, showed Stroud's raw emotions multiple times while he watched Dell being administered to by the doctors before he was driven away.
"Tank's one of his best friends," Ryans said about Stroud. "To see one of your best friends distraught (and) in pain on the field like that, those emotions will come up when you care about your brother, you care about your teammate.
"It was emotional for a lot of guys, and it was hard to watch. You see how much guys truly care for each other, not just saying, 'It's a brotherhood,' or 'We're brothers.' No, guys here, the Texans, truly care about each other, and that's what you saw from our team.
"The emotion that you see from C.J. and from our team goes back to something we talked about at training camp of building a tight bond, building a deeper relationship and growing tighter as a team. I think that's what showed."
Dell is the second receiver the Texans have lost for the season. Stefon Diggs went down in October with a torn ACL. Ryans said John Metchie III, who was inactive Saturday because of a shoulder injury, might be able to play against Baltimore.
Robert Woods and Xavier Hutchinson are other receivers who'll have to step up and make contributions at a position where Nico Collins is Stroud's favorite target and one of best in the league.
Ward had to be carted off with a foot injury and will have to be replaced. Safety Jalen Pitre was already out for the season. The Texans have rookie Calen Bullock, who's having a splendid season with five interceptions, and veterans Eric Murray and M.J. Stewart.
"Another guy that went down and was in a lot of pain on the field, as well," Ryans said about Ward. "When it comes to our matchups, our personnel and how we'll deploy our guys, we're still sorting through that. As of right now, it's still fresh, and we're still sorting through how we'll replace Jimmie."
In 2023, Ryans' first season, Pitre was the only one of the top-four safeties to avoid injured reserve. Ward, Murray and Stewart were lost for the season. The Texans had to sign veteran safeties off the street, and they helped the Texans finish 10-7, win the AFC South and beat Cleveland in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
DeAndre Houston-Carson, Adrian Amos and Kareem Jackson were safeties signed during the season to replace Ward, Murray and Stewart. They combined to play in 14 games, and Houston-Carson (DH-C) started five times.
"Some of those veterans last year came in and helped us out," Ryans said. "We have to get guys in that are dependable, guys we can count on to be where they're supposed to be and execute the right way.
"Last year, we were able to add DH-C, who did a really nice job of being a veteran who'd seen a lot (and) done a lot. We had Kareem, as well. We'll see how we have to configure things."
When Mason went down on the first series against the Chiefs, he was replaced by Kendrick Green. Mason, the only player to start every game last season, was lost with a knee injury.
"That hurts us," Ryans said about losing his most durable player. "I thought Kendrick stepped in and did a nice job. Our O-line, overall, did a nice job of competing (and) playing hard and (physically). We'll see how the unit continues to progress."
Stroud was sacked twice, including once when he ran out of bounds in the fourth quarter, but he was knocked down 11 times and was under almost constant pressure from the second quarter through the end of the game.
"We're always exploring everything we have to do to improve our team," Ryans said. "The games don't stop (and) our opponents don't stop. We still have a lot ahead of us, and it's a matter of guys maximizing opportunities and not making any excuses. We've got to play winning football."
And they have two more regular-season games to play winning football against the Ravens at NRG Stadium and at Tennessee on the last weekend of the season before hosting the eighth wild-card game in team history.
