Which player got the last laugh in Sunday's close game?
Not only did the Houston Texans suffer the shame of Joe Mixon’s Lambeau Leap denial, they also had to watch Brandon McManus send them home sad. And after the game, DeMeco Ryans reacted to the altercation between Stefon Diggs and the Packers’ Jaire Alexander.
Ryans said the players have a history with each other, according to a post on X by Aaron Wilson.
“Things like that happen,” Ryans said. “Those guys have a history. They’ve been going at it before.”
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans doesn’t like ‘chirping’
Ryans said he wants the Texans players to focus on things other than clap back with opponents.
“We don’t encourage that,” Ryans said. “We just wanna go play ball the right way. Make sure we settle it on the field. We can’t be about chirping and all the extra stuff. We just have to be about executing when the ball is snapped.”
Diggs already had a rivalry with Alexander, and it continued. Prior to Sunday's game, the Texans' first-year receiver had a heated confrontation with Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander in which the players needed to be separated.
This time, Diggs and Alexander appeared exchange words near the Packers' sideline. Diggs swatted at Alexander, and Packers’ coach Matt LaFleur stepped between the players. Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon approached Diggs and put his hand on the Diggs’ chest. Diggs then shoved Nixon. Cooler heads prevailed for a time, but Alexander re-emerged and appeared to shove Diggs' face mask as tempers flared. A look at the meelee can be seen on this post on X by the NFL on CBS.
The Texans' receiver continued his mini-tirade after the game, according to his comments to usatoday.com.
“I'm never the bigger person,” Diggs said. “I ain't letting (expletive) go. I ain't with the football tough guy (expletive).”
Diggs had a poor game, managing only 23 yards on five catches. And the Packers got the last laugh with McManus’ 45-yard game-winner.
Of course, Packers’ QB Jordan Love had a hand in setting up the field goal. LaFleur praised his toughness, according to atozsports.com.
“I just talked to him about it,” LaFleur said. “That's his superpower, no matter what's happened, whether good or bad, he continues to fight and be resilient. The moment is never too big for him. I thought that was huge for him to be able to take us all the way down the field and get an opportunity to kick a field goal. Hats off to him.”
