Nov 2, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans during the first half against the Denver Broncos at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

DeMeco Ryans Defends Texans’ Clock Management vs. Broncos

Originally posted on Houston Texans on SI | By Jared Koch | Last updated Nov 3, 2025 1:12 PM ET

The Houston Texans, in the final minutes of their matchup against the Denver Broncos for Week 9, had some unique decision making stem from head coach DeMeco Ryans.

On the Texans' final offensive drive of the day with 1:14 to go on the game clock, Houston wound up only holding possession of the ball for three plays and a total of 14 seconds before punting it back to the Broncos' offense.

Davis Mills tried to get three quick passes going to move the chains forward, two of those attemps came up incomplete, and in turn, Denver and Bo Nix got the ball back for what would inevitably lead to a game-winning field goal to ice a 15-18 loss for Houston, dropping them to 3-5 on the year.

It's a set of decisions that Ryans, following the outcome, was faced with a few questions as to why he and the Texans operated their late-game clock management and execution with how they did. But when asking Ryans, he has no regrets for how Houston's final possession played out.

"No regrets," Ryans said the day following Houston's loss to Denver. "We're trying to get in position to score. Right? We tried to throw the ball, had a couple of quick options to throw the football, and keep the clock moving, and get our two minute drive started. It didn't happen."

DeMeco Ryans Has 'No Regrets' for Late-Game Clock Management

Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Texans' offensive game plan certainly took a hit the second that star quarterback C.J. Stroud was ruled out with a concussion, effectively elevating backup Davis Mills to take those snaps at the very end of the game, where he couldn't quite get the momentum– both on the final drive, and in the fourth quarter as a whole.

Through the Texans' four offensive drives in the fourth quarter, two of those ended up as a three-and-out, and all four of them amounted to just over six minutes of possession.

Still not over this pic.twitter.com/EaZSvlflxm
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) November 2, 2025

However, even without the most ideal performance offensively, Ryans isn't putting the blame on the shoulders of one individual; it's a team effort involving all three phases of the ball, and the Texans simply came up short as a collective against a tough Broncos team.

"We have to play team ball. It's a team game, and we have to play complementary football, all three phases helping each other out, however that looks every week. To me, it really doesn't matter. It's about finishing the game in a winning fashion."

"That's scoring more points than the other team, that's stopping them, not allowing them to score points."

The Texans, of course, fell just short of that goal this weekend and now leave Ryans and Co. 3-5 heading into Week 10 of the season, now with a pretty steep mountain to climb in order to navigate back to the status of a real playoff contender.

This article first appeared on Houston Texans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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