On injury update on WR Tank Dell
"Injury update with [WR] Tank [Dell]. Right now, he's flying back to Houston. Right now, we will still be evaluating, to see where he is. Still meeting with doctors to see what's next for him. But it is a significant knee injury, and our thoughts and prayers are definitely with Tank at this time."
On if there is a possibility of returning or if he is out for the season
"We are still evaluating that to see what will happen. He still has to talk to doctors and go through all the procedures there. On the same note, we'd really like to thank the Kansas City Medical team and the doctors there and their staff for being very accommodating for us, helping out with Tank, getting him a room and getting him setup. I really thought those guys did a really unbelievable job. [Chiefs Vice President of Sports Medicine and Performance] Rick Burkholder and his staff, they did an unbelievable job. Very thankful for Kansas City's entire organization and their medical team."
On if he has spoken to WR Tank Dell since he went to the hospital
"Yes, I have been in contact with him."
On if he has spoken to WR Jared Wayne after how distraught he was after the play
"Yeah, with that, Jared [Wayne] was in a difficult spot emotionally, as anyone would be. It's a tough spot to be in. Football is a lot of unpredictable movements, a lot of things happen. Things happen fast. None of us can predict injuries or what's going to happen on the field. Guys play fast. Things happen all the time, right? You try to avoid things, you slow down and some things probably happen even anymore, so you just continue to play fast and just understand that it's the unfortunate part of what we do is the injury. So, you just take a step back and think about Tank, think about Jared and all the guys involved on that play. It's tough. It's tough for me, it's tough for everybody to see anybody hurt. It is the same when [Dolphins WR Grant] DuBose went down last week with Miami. It's tough to see guys get injured, the work that guys put in, how much they put their bodies on the line to play this game. It's deeper than football. We are talking about real people who have real emotions and real feelings who are going through a tough time right now. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in that situation."
On if there is an advantage on a short week to have played Baltimore Ravens twice last year
"Playing them last year I don't think has a lot to do with this year. With them adding [Ravens RB] Derek Henry, I think their offense has changed significantly with Derek and what they're able to do. I think they are able to run the football even better. Now having Derek there, he's having an outstanding year. When it comes to the [Ravens QB] Lamar [Jackson], what jumps off the tape to me is just how accurate he is with football now, throwing the football, hitting the tight ends. He has a lot of weapons, and he's distributing the football very well, making really good decisions with the football. They are an explosive unit. How they handle the run game, and then also Lamar and his threat to run the ball, also throwing the ball. He's an unbelievable talent, definitely the guy who is in consideration for the MVP. He jumps off the tape as one of the best players in our league."
On thoughts on Ravens RB Derek Henry and what he has done this season
"I think Derek has found that fountain of youth. He is playing fast. He's playing physical, he is tough as ever. Looks like the old Derrick Henry, and he's low, and he's playing very powerful. He has some really long runs, long runs for touchdowns. So, he has it all, the speed, physicality, like he brings it all and the o-line is doing a really good job of giving him some nice lanes to run through. So, it's going to be a difficult match up for us when it comes to just stopping the run game, probably the best run unit we've seen all year."
On thoughts on how to replace S Jimmie Ward if he is unable to play
"As right now, another guy that went down and he was in a lot of pain on the field as well, Jimmie. Our thoughts are with him, as well. People lose sight that Jimmie went down as well as Tank. Unfortunately for Jimmie, him to go down that way. When it comes to our matchups, our personnel and how we'll deploy our guys, still sorting through that. As of right now, it is still fresh and still sorting through how we will replace Jimmie."
On if he anticipates the offensive line switching up again with G Shaq Mason leaving the game against the Chiefs with an injury
"Shaq – again, lost another starter there in Shaq, so that hurts us. I thought [C/G] Kendrick [Green] stepped in and did a really nice job. Our O-line, overall, did a really nice job all day of really competing, playing hard, physical. I really like what they did and we'll see how the unit continues to progress."
On how they compensate for losing safeties due to injury
"For us, we really just have to get guys in that are dependable, guys that we can count on to be where they're supposed to be and just execute the right way. I think last year, we were able to add
[S] DeAndre Houston-Carson] DAC who stepped in and did a really nice job of just being a veteran guy who has seen a lot, done a lot. We had [Bills S] Kareem [Jackson] as well, I think, last year. So, some of those veterans last year came in, stepped in and helped us out. We'll see how we have to configure things moving forward. But it doesn't stop. The games don't stop. Our opponents don't stop. We still have a lot ahead of us and it's just a matter of guys just maximizing opportunity that's in front of us and not making any excuses or explanations. We've just got to go out and play winning football."
On if he expects to pursue a player at the wide receiver position
"A little early right now for me when it comes to that. But we're always exploring everything we have to do to improve our team."
On why he thinks they were not able to finish some plays against the Chiefs
"Overall, as a team, as I mentioned to our guys, we had our moments in the game versus KC where we needed guys to step up and make plays, whether that was defensively, offensively, special teams-wise. We had our moments. We had our opportunities and it just comes down to as simple as guys being in the right spot. We just have to make the plays. We have to finish and that's all it comes down to. Kansas City, they made plays, especially when it came to third down, they made plays and we didn't make the plays on third down unfortunately. And that's the game. So, to beat a good team like that, you have to execute in those critical moments of the game, fourth quarter, when it's time to go ahead, it's time to get off the field. You have to make those plays in those critical moments and we didn't."
On if there is a chance WR John Metchie III could return for the next game
"There is a chance John could be back. I think he's progressing, so we'll see where he ends up on Wednesday. It's funny saying Wednesday."
On if it is cool for him that they will play on Christmas day as a family-oriented person
"It is a unique opportunity for us as a team to be playing on Christmas. And have everyone – everybody watching, tuned in. So, it'll be cool for everyone to see the Texans again and see what we're about, see how we respond after a tough loss against KC, see how we respond against another great team. So, I'm excited about all the families who will get the opportunity to watch us on Christmas."
On what the overall strategy is for the next game with the little time they have to prepare for it
"With the timing of this one, it's similar to our Thursday game. So, it's the same amount of time you have to prepare for the Thursday night game. So, we'll go through our same schedule, so we've been here before when we went against the Jets early in the year on a Thursday night. So, we'll use that same schedule. Our guys – they understand what we're doing, what we're trying to get accomplished in a short amount of time. The main thing is about guys just recovering, hitting the recovery as hard as they can and also just being mentally ready to go on Wednesday."
On the status of C/G Juice Scruggs' injury and how his status will impact the changes they have made to the offensive line this season
"We'll see where Juice is. Juice has been improving. We'll see where he ends up. But once we have guys back, we'll make those adjustments when they're back and when they're ready to go. Right now, we don't know how it'll look."
On if the emotions QB C.J. Stroud's showed after WR Tank Dell's injury show how much he cares about the team
"The emotion that you see from C.J. and from our entire team, it goes back to something we talked about at training camp of building a tight bond, building a deeper relationship as a team and growing tighter as a team. And I think that's what showed now. And you see the emotions because one, C.J., of course he cares, but Tank is one of his best friends. So, to see one of your best friends distraught, in pain on the field like that, those emotions will come up when you truly, genuinely care about your brother, you care about your teammate. It was emotional for a lot of guys and it was hard to watch. But it's also I'm like, 'Wow, this is a really, really tight team.' You see how much guys really, 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 entire team."
