Reporters confronted Texans' RB Joe Mixon with Rex Ryan's grim outlook on Houston in the postseason.
As winners of the AFC South, the Houston Texans will host the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card round this weekend. While a 31-2 Week 16 blowout loss to the Baltimore Ravens has left Houston’s Super Bowl aspirations on life support, one commentator doesn’t even think the team stands a chance against Los Angeles.
Former NFL coach turned studio analyst Rex Ryan dropped a saucy take, saying the first round matchup between LA and the Texans amounts to a bye week for the Chargers. Naturally, reporters rushed to get Houston running back Joe Mixon’s opinion on the harsh pronouncement. “Look bro, I mean, I’m just here to let my helmet and shoulder pads do the talking… I’m not gonna comment,” Mixon responded, per Landry Locker on X.
There was a time when Ryan was a highly regarded defensive coordinator in the NFL. He then spent eight seasons as a head coach, a period that included two AFC Championship Game appearances with the New York Jets in 2009 and 2010. And while he’ll go down in the annals of Jets lore, the reality is Ryan hasn’t donned a headset for any franchise since 2016.
While Ryan would like to rejoin the Jets as a coach, and even interviewed for the team’s head coaching vacancy, for the last eight years Ryan has been a football analyst for ESPN. His job is to produce sound bites that get picked up by media outlets and written about, discussed and dissected. Which, actually, is what we’re doing here. So it’s working.
Fortunately, Mixon didn’t take the bait. Still, Ryan’s viewpoint isn’t all that hard to understand.
Veteran RB Joe Mixon had a strong season for the Texans in 2024
While the Texans boast some serious team-wide talent, Houston is undeniably limping into the postseason having lost two of its last three. Over the Texans’ last five games in 2024, the team has averaged just 17.4 points per contest. Houston has only scored 30 or more points twice in 17 games this season,
The Chargers on the other hand finished the season strong, winning three straight games and averaging 36 points per contest in that stretch. Despite LA playing in a strong division where three of four teams reached the playoffs, the Jim Harbaugh-led squad held its own, finishing 11-6 with a 4-2 record against AFC West teams.
While the Texans did dominate their division with a 5-1 record, that should be expected considering the three other teams in the AFC South failed to reach the postseason. The Texans finished 10-7 despite the late year stumble, while the divisions' other teams combined for a 15-36 record.
While Houston did lose wideout Tank Dell to a season-ending injury in Week 16, which has hampered the offense, he was only absent for three of the final five games in which scoring dropped off. Stroud, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, has suffered through a sophomore slump.
Mixon, however, has enjoyed a resurgent season after he was surprisingly traded to the Texans by the Cincinnati Bengals ahead of the 2024 campaign. He produced his fifth career 1,000-yard rushing season with 11 scores in 14 games.
