‘Taste damn good, Joe brought the stogies for us,’ Texans enjoy victory cigars after playoff win over Chargers

HOUSTON – Inside the Texans’ raucous locker room, thick smoke hung in the air as players enjoyed victory cigars provided by Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon.

The room was transformed into a cigar lounge as players soaked up the moment of a 32-12 AFC wild-card playoff blowout win over the Los Angeles Chargers at NRG Stadium.

“Taste damn good,” Texans Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil said. “Joe brought the stogies for us.”

As the Kendrick Lamar song, “Squabble Up” played in the background and players danced, Mixon went live on Instagram and said: “Smokin’ on that Rex Ryan bye week pack.”

That was a reference to the former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills coach saying this would be a “bye week” for the Chargers.

Texans defensive tackle Tim Settle grabbed a cigar, snipping the end as he prepared to smoke. It was a fun victory scene for the Texans to enjoy, a special moment, perhaps a new tradition started by their punishing running back acquired in an offseason trade from the Cincinnati Bengals and signed to a three-year, $27 million contract extension.

“We went through the hard part, an 18-week season,” Mixon said. “And you can never take a win in this league for granted. I don’t care how good it looked, how ugly it looked, especially us. We last another week, bro. I’m just happy to be able to celebrate with my guys to be here another week.

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“No matter what who we play, we got to carry this momentum and put it on tape. I’m just happy I was able to celebrate with my my guys in the playoffs.”

How were those cigars? Does Mixon have excellent taste in stogies?

“Oh yeah he does,” defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi said. ‘Shout-out. Send us some more.”

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Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com.