Texans - 28, Giants - 10
Q. Could you talk about what the plan was for Metchie, and how do you think would describe the way he played? Does this make it even tougher, your decisions on receivers?
DEMECO RYANS: For Metchie, I think he did a really nice job today, just catching the football, making some big time plays for us. It's exciting to see Metchie make those plays.
I think nobody is more fired up than all of his teammates. You see the other receivers, and to see their genuine excitement for him when he makes those plays and just the entire team as a whole is pulling for him to do well, and he did a really nice job today.
That's why I think you play the preseason games. That's why you have training camp practices is to see guys continue to grow, get better, and shine when the opportunity comes, and Metchie had a really nice day today.
Q. Were you surprised by what you see from the first team offensive unit, especially with C.J. doing what he did on that first round?
DEMECO RYANS: For the offense, I talked about before we went out just starting fast, like having a fast start, playing efficient, and I think they did a really nice job of that. Getting the ball around everyone. Everybody touched the ball. It was good to see different guys get their hands on it, and our guys made plays.
And we have a lot of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball, a lot of people to distribute to, which is a good thing. I thought our guys played really well together, and I was excited what our first offense did.
Q. Jalen Pitre reacting to the throw from Daniel Jones and looking comfortable at nickel, and then just if you're seeing kind of the continuation of what he did last year.
DEMECO RYANS: Defensively, one thing we harp on is attacking the football. For us to go out today and take the ball away five times, that's big time. Any time you can do that, you're going to win the football game. So it was exciting to see Pitre and Stingley, Max Tooley, who else, Neville, Solomon Byrd.
Like it was exciting to see so many different guys attack the football in different facets, whether it's intercepting the football, strip sack, or just taking the ball away from the back there. We talk about it so much, and to actually see it come to life, it's confirmation for us and our coaching points and what we ask guys to do. It's fun.
For me, I just love seeing the reactions from everyone on the sideline going crazy when we take the football away.
Q. Before the team took the field, the team honored Jacoby Jones. To see his family out there for a former teammate and a friend, what was that moment like for you?
DEMECO RYANS: It was a tough moment. You see such a young guy, a former teammate, to be so young, and losing a guy at such a young age, it's tough to see his picture up there and to be honoring him in this moment.
Our hearts, prayers still go out to Ms. Emily and Jacoby Jr. on that loss, it's a tough one to handle. For me especially, any time you lose a teammate there, a guy who's so full of life, a guy who always had a smile on his face, always lit up a room, dancing, joking, whatever it was. You miss that fun-spirited guy.
No one misses him more than his family, his mother and his son. Our prayers are with them. I'm happy that our organization was able to honor him in that way and give his family that respect and honor today.
Q. At the end of the game, you had the challenge, kind of ices the game. Is there any way to practice that not in a preseason game? Some people see that challenge at the end of a game or timeouts, and they're like, eh, it's preseason. Is there any way for a coach to practice that outside of a preseason game?
DEMECO RYANS: For us, every time you line up, it's not practice. I take these games serious. They're real games. Any time our guys are going out, they're putting their bodies on the line, so it's no practice or taking it lightly.
Any time we step out, we want to win. It's a lot of people working with their eyes in the right place to make sure we make the right decisions when we can.
We had the opportunity to challenge there, and a lot of people saw it from the sideline, and they were correct.
Q. Coach, your offense was able to get some good reps from J.J. Taylor, Cam Akers, the rookies Brooks and Jordan. Will their performance change the outlook of how the running back room in a different look once Joe Mixon comes back?
DEMECO RYANS: The running backs did a great job today. Nothing's changed there. Still a big challenge in the running back room. We're excited to see more, see those guys next week. We have the Rams coming in. Exciting to see them compete. Exciting to see them play next week in a game as well. The competition continues to press forward.
Q. In the first quarter, you were watching the consistency of Dalton Schultz and C.J. Based on what you've seen from last year to this year, how has their relationship continued to grow? And the value of having a tight end that can consistently get up-and-down on a third down?
DEMECO RYANS: Dalton is a reliable, trustworthy player. He finds a way to get open, especially third down. He has really great hands. He's always like in between the hashes right there. He's able to make a play, and he's available for C.J. to get the ball to him.
He's done that his entire career. He's been a consistent player. He's done a good job for us since he's been here. I think C.J. sees that, and he knows that he's a reliable target.
Q. Today we saw a little bit more from Jalen Pitre out there with the interception. How comfortable do you think Jalen Pitre is this season?
DEMECO RYANS: Jalen's done a great job. That's who Jalen has been since I first got here. Jalen brings great energy. He's one of the smarter football players on our team. He's a leader. He's everything you want in a player. He brings it all.
I'm fired up to continue to see him get more, make more plays. He's fun to watch. He's exciting. He provides energy to our entire team. So Jalen has done an outstanding job.
Q. How do you properly evaluate what you see from the first team rushing? When you're missing a key player like Laramie Tunsil. I know the stats don't always tell the whole story. How do you look at that in particular?
DEMECO RYANS: We ran the ball really well today. I think our offensive line did a great job of -- we look at the preseason, whoever's out there, that's the evaluation. We can't evaluate guys who aren't out there.
But overall, the way our offensive line ran off the ball, the way they moved people and created lanes for our backs, like you run the ball as a team. O-line, everybody knows O-line, but it's how your receivers are blocking. Are we finishing attack to the defenders and finishing a play? We did a good job of that today.
Q. What made you decide to go for it on fourth and goal in the first quarter? And what did you see on that fourth quarter play that you challenged that set up the second touchdown?
DEMECO RYANS: Going forward early there, I didn't need to see Ka'imi kick the chip shot there. I wanted our offense to punch the ball in. That's what I went for there. Let's see if we can execute there in the red zone and make a play. That's why I went for it there.
Offense did a great job of pushing the ball downfield, having a really successful job, and I wanted to finish in the end zone there. That's why I went for it.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports