The Houston Texans are among the most unexpected teams in the NFL this year, and coach DeMeco Ryans believes they are on the verge of reaching their full potential.
The Houston Texans have won as many games as many predicted they would all season long with a record of 2-3 after five weeks.
Even after a close loss to the Atlanta Falcons in Week 5, some people think the Texans might be competing to sit atop the AFC South sooner than anticipated with victories against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers.
After his remarks on Monday, Houston coach DeMeco Ryans can now be added to the group of people who believe that this year’s team has immediate promise.
DeMeco Ryans upbeat while talking about Texans
Ryans said when talking about how they almost had their 3rd win of the season,
“We’re close, we’re very close and our guys know that,” “I know we left a lot of plays out there that we could have made to flip that game in our direction…I think the game flipped on third down. They got stops on third down and we didn’t get stops defensively. That’s where the game flipped for us.”
Despite its third down struggles against Atlanta, Houston has the seventh-best overall conversion rate.
Ryans wants to fix the Texans’ defense, which is allowing opponents to score more than 47% of the time, beginning in Week 6 when the Texans visit the New Orleans Saints at home.
Fortunately, when trying to convert third downs, the Saints offensive is currently ranked 22nd in the NFL, giving Houston a fantastic opportunity to raise its defensive %.
Finding success on that crucial down will be the key to the Texans continuing to surprise and returning to the win column, as the New Orleans defense is presently third in the league in preventing third-down conversions.