The Houston Texans’ defense gave it everything they had, but their offense turned the ball over five times. Yet, they still had a chance to win until late in the fourth quarter before the game was put out of reach. With the ball deep in their own territory on fourth down, head coach DeMeco Ryans decided to punt, using one timeout and trailing by 12 points.
To no one’s surprise, Ryans is drawing heat for giving up on the game in the playoffs.
NFL World Takes Aim at DeMeco Ryans
It’s hard to imagine that the Texans would have converted the fourth-and-long even if they did go for it. But in the playoffs, at that stage, there wasn’t much to lose.
However, the way the offense was playing, it felt that they had just as much of a chance to score on defense as on offense. It’s sad, but it’s not far from the truth. Yet, the decision still confused many.
“Punt makes zero sense,” said NFL insider Ari Meirov.
Punt makes zero sense.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 18, 2026
NFL analyst Jeremy Fowler got in on the discussion, too.
“DeMeco Ryans just punted on the game. Apparently he’s seen enough of his offense,” said Fowler.
DeMeco Ryans just punted on the game. Apparently he’s seen enough of his offense.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 18, 2026
It didn’t make sense because the Texans only got one more possession in the game. If they scored on their final possession, it would have still been almost impossible to win, but a chance nonetheless. Instead, the punt was a symbol of surrender and giving up.
“Surrender punt,” said one fan.
Former NFL player Damien Woody said what everyone was thinking after the punt soared through the Foxboro sky.
“DeMeco threw up the white flag,” said Woody.
DeMeco threw up the white flag
— Damien Woody (@damienwoody) January 18, 2026
Giving up on the team in the playoffs won’t go over well despite the low odds of actually pulling out the victory. On the biggest stage, Ryans had no trust in his offense. It’s hard to blame him after watching his offense turn the ball over five times. But when push comes to shove, you have to give your team a chance and Ryans didn’t quite give it to his offense.
“How can you punt down 12 with less than five minutes left and only one time out?” said FOX analyst Greg Auman.Â
To add more fuel to the fire, one Texans reporter weighed in on the decision.
“Lmao there is no way they just punted that ball away. Obviously extremely unlikely to get it but man,” said Nick Schwager.
The Texans defense can hang their head on an effort very few teams would be able to replicate. Unfortunately, it was the end of the road for Houston because they couldn’t score. It’s back to the drawing board to find answers to help this offense provide enough scoring to let this defense take them to its limits.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.
