DeMeco Ryans has been one of the better head coaches in the NFL since he was hired by the Houston Texans in 2023. His clock management on Sunday was a disaster.
A team that had to play from behind had only one timeout remaining with more than 10 minutes still on the clock.
Not only did he mess up the timeout situation, Ryans decided to punt on fourth down with four minutes remaining while trailing by 12 points in an NFL playoff game. It was the proverbial nail in the coffin.
DeMeco Ryans did not bench CJ Stroud.
Before we get into all of the clock stuff, lets start with the elephant in the room. CJ Stroud played one of the worst games of his career against the New England Patriots during the AFC Divisional Round.
The former No. 2 overall pick threw four picks during the first half to put the Texans in a hole. He was also unable to find the end zone on the majority of offensive drives, which forced Houston to kick a field goal in multiple situations where it needed a touchdown.
Ryans stuck with his guy on Sunday though it was clear that Stroud simply did not have the juice.
Although I understand the desire to let your franchise quarterback have an opportunity, it got to the point that fans were calling for Davis Mills. Perhaps the backup could provide a spark. We’ll never know.
What we do know is that Stroud’s turnover bug traces back to one very specific moment in NFL history. You can blame his struggles on an attempt to “little bro” Caleb Williams at the start of 2024.
But that is neither here nor there.
CJ Stroud could not get his team into the end zone. The Texans desperately needed a touchdown on three drives that ended with a field goal. They lost because they did not score enough points.
Fine. Whatever. You have to play your guy. I get it!
Poor timeout management and an ill-advised punt sealed the fate of the Houston Texans.
Fast forward to the third quarter with just under three minutes left on the clock. Houston trailed by only five points. Stroud took a sack on second down for a loss of three.
DeMeco Ryans called a timeout to think about the play call for 3rd-and-13. He then decided to kick a field goal when the Texans were tackled five yards short of the line to gain on third down.
Why call the timeout on third down if you are going to kick on fourth down?!
Fast forward again to the fourth quarter. Stroud threw an incompletion on 2nd-and-6 to set up third down with 12:09 remaining. Houston failed to get in the play call for third down. Ryans called a timeout.
That left the Texans with only one timeout remaining in a 12-point game in the fourth quarter. Not great.
How do you struggle with calling a play on time during the playoffs?!
Now fast forward to the 4:54-mark. Stroud was sacked on 3rd-and-10 for a loss of eight yards. Even though Houston trailed by 12 points with only one timeout remaining, Ryans decided to punt. It was the metaphorical white flag. He gave the ball right back to the Patriots.
And to make matters worse, Ryans called his third and final timeout shortly thereafter. New England gained nine yards on first down. Ryans stopped the clock for the last time on 2nd-and-1.
The Patriots got the first down on the very next play and took more than two minutes off of the clock. They went on to win 28-16.
As much as the loss was on CJ Stroud, it is also on DeMeco Ryans. The head coach of the Houston Texans handed the game to his opponent with poor timeout management and a cowardly punt.