‘We took that personal... Rat poison’: Texans shrug off Rex Ryan’s bye week comment, blow out Chargers as he apologizes

HOUSTON – Inside the Texans’ victorious locker room Saturday night, Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon inhaled deeply as he puffed on one of the cigars he provided for his team after dispatching the Los Angeles Chargers in a resounding playoff win.

“We smoking on that Rex Ryan bye week pack,” Mixon said while going live on an Instagram video.

Although Mixon didn’t add fuel to the “outside noise,” during interviews, there was no doubt about how the Texans felt about what former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills coach Rex Ryan said on ESPN days before kickoff. Ryan dismissed the AFC South champions, essentially saying they had zero hope against a Chargers squad favored by three points.

“I never realized the Chargers got a bye, that they qualified for a bye,” Ryan said. “But they did because they’re playing Houston.”

Ouch.

Yes, the Texans used Ryan’s comment as motivational fuel. They played like an angry team during a 32-12 butt-kicking win over the Chargers on Saturday at NRG Stadium. Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. called Ryan’s comments “outside noise,” channeling former Alabama coach Nick Saban in characterizing that as “rat poison.”

“I mean he don’t even know what he’s talking about,” wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson said. “Of course, you try to block that out, but, in the back of our heads, we know what he said and we took that personal.”

Although Ryan said he wasn’t backing off his inflammatory words before the game, obviously he was dead wrong about the Texans. He later apologized.

In his postgame speech to the team, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans opened his remarks by saying: ‘Hey, outstanding job by everybody. How was that bye week?”

‘Let my helmet and shoulder pads do the talking,’ how Texans approach the ‘noise’ of being counted out against Chargers

Anderson typified the Texans’ reaction to the commentary from a coach who interviewed for the Jets’ head coaching vacancy this week and has a long history of outspoken remarks.

“If God be for you, who could be against you? My mom told me that one, and that’s just how I felt,” Anderson said. “It doesn’t matter what everybody says. The outside noise, we know what kind of team we’ve got.

“I don’t have a message to Rex. It’s his job. That’s what he does. He gets on TV and he talks. I’m not going to say anything disrespectful about him. We’ve just got to worry about us. We’ve just got to keep chopping wood. We’ve got to keep executing, keep being mentally sound and keep coming to work every day and keep getting better.”

Mixon, after rushing for 106 yards and a touchdown, said the Texans can’t focus on words, just what happens on the field.

“I mean when it comes down to it, bro, obviously you have the outside noise,” Mixon said. “It is what it is. Everybody has an opinion. When it comes down to it, it’s between the white lines, it’s the playoffs. All that matters is put your best s--- on tape.”

Several players said they didn’t really take Ryan seriously. They just looked at it as show business stuff for clicks and ratings.

“I think that is what it is: that was more so for TV,” veteran linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair said. “He’s coached. I can’t fathom that he’s interviewed for jobs as a head coach and that’s his mentality, that’s what he thinks that any week you have a bye. I don’t take that personal whatsoever. I think it’s just you’re on TV and get a little excited. It’s cool. It is what it is. At the end of the day, you got to play the game.”

After the game, apologized for his comments with a mea culpa after the game with a cigar in his mouth.

“That’s a motivated team,” Ryan said. “My goodness, I mean who had a worse day? Me or Justin Herbert? It’s probably right there, but you got to tip your hat to them because that team played their absolute a--- off. If you guys were going to play like that, I would have taken you to win the Super Bowl. Sorry, Houston. But I’m not picking you next week! Maybe I will.”

Texans Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil summed up the whole side drama succinctly, with truth.

“We talk with our pads,” Tunsil told KPRC 2. “Best way to talk. It’s all on us.”

Four ways to watch KPRC 2+ anytime

• Search for the KPRC 2+ app on your smart TV or streaming device - including Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Google TV.
• Get the new KPRC 2+ mobile app - which is free to download in the App Store or on Google Play.
• Watch at Click2Houston.com/watchlive.
• Look for the KPRC 2+ livestream in the “Watch Live” section of the Click2Houston news app.

READ MORE:

• ‘Getting a bike is like getting your first car,’ Texans host annual holiday bike giveaway for elementary school students
• Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud’s foundation, Bun B, Trill Burgers team up to benefit Lily’s Toy Box
• ‘All-Pro Sting,’ Texans corner Derek Stingley Jr. named AFC Defensive Player of the Week
• Texans officially activate guard Kenyon Green from injured reserve-designated for return
• ‘Flying around, sideline to sideline, like he hadn’t missed a beat,’ Texans’ Christian Harris productive in season debut
• ‘All we can do is be there for them’ Texans’ Tim Settle Jr. surprises kids at M.D. Anderson with presents, spreads cheer
• Texans’ Joe Mixon ‘came out fine’ after ankle injury: ‘We see that as a hip-drop tackle that didn’t get flagged’
• Texans’ new-look offensive line debuts with workable results, rookie Blake Fisher ‘held his own .. we had a solid game’

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