Joe Mixon had some choice words for Rex Ryan.
Before their 32-12 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers to kick off Wild Card Weekend, Joe Mixon and the Houston Texans had extra motivation heading into Saturday. Once playoff seeding was set, ESPN's Rex Ryan gave his opinion on the Chargers-Texans matchup, noting it would be an easy win for Jim Harbaugh and Justin Herbert, per social media user “sidelinesarah” on X.
“Yeah, I mean, I never realized the Chargers got a bye, that they qualified for a bye, but they did because they're playing Houston,” Ryan said, suppressing a laugh. “This team right here is No. 1 in the National Football League in scoring defense. And by the way, Quentin Johnston, he actually can catch the ball. He had 13 catches. Remember this? The kid that couldn't catch a cold. All of a sudden, now he's catching the ball. They're moving it, they can pound you with the run game. They also realized they have a Hall of Fame quarterback.”
Now, while Herbert didn't have a Hall of Fame performance against the Texans in the Wild Card round, Mixon and the Texans had Ryan's comments fresh in their minds following the victory, per Ari Meirov on X.
“Rex Ryan said the Chargers have a ‘bye week' facing the Texans,” Meirov wrote. “Joe Mixon is celebrating that now.”
Following their dominant playoff victory, the Texans' running back joined some of his teammates to celebrate the win with their congratulatory cigars. While smoking cigars, Mixon and the Texans sent a message to Rex Ryan after his comments.
“We smokin' on that Rex Ryan bye-week pack,” Mixon said, lighting his cigar after the Texans' Wild Card victory. “C'mon, Rex. C'mon, man. H-Town, we lit tonight. Turn us up, man.”
Now, as the Texans await their next playoff opponent, they can look back on a successful beginning to Wild Card Weekend while they smoke on the “Rex Ryan pack”.
