(SportsRadio 610) - The Texans have played so many games decided in the last 30 seconds – eight in a row and counting – it's like they welcome chaotic situations they navigate with a thrive-or-die mentality under first-year coach DeMeco Ryans.
The last time the Texans played a game that wasn't settled in the last 30 seconds was Oct. 1 when they obliterated Pittsburgh 30-6 at NRG Stadium on J.J. Watt Day.
Sunday's 22-17 victory over Denver wasn't secured until safety Jimmie Ward intercepted quarterback Russell Wilson in the end zone with nine seconds left to elevate the Texans' record to 7-5.
"I think our guys have gotten confidence playing in so many of those games," Ryans said Monday. "That's the climate of the NFL, so you have to be prepared at the end of games. The team that handles it the best -- the team that doesn't panic in the moment and that's confident in the moment – comes out on top in most of those games."
Going into their next game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium, the Texans are favored by 6.5 points. If the last two months are an indication, there's the very real likelihood it'll be a one-score game decided in the last half minute.
The Texans are 5-3 in their last eight games. Here are the seconds remaining when the games have been secured during that eight-game stretch: 0, 16, 0, 6, 0, 30, 20 and 9.
"It's how you operate in that moment, not blinking and not panicking," Ryans said. "It's like everybody being under control, calm, in the moment and just executing. That's what our team is continuing to show every week."
Of course, Ryans and his staff would rather have blowouts like their victories over the Jaguars by 20 and the Steelers by 24, but those conquests were so long ago they almost don't exist in the memory bank. Heart-stopping wins and losses have become commonplace, whether it's on offense or defense.
"It comes down to that last moment every week," Ryans said. "Every game seems like it's within a score."
That's because it is. Their last eight games have been decided by 2, 7, 2, 2, 3, 5, 3 and 5 points.
Defeating the Broncos and ending their five-game winning streak – like they ended the Bengals' four-game winning streak – enabled the Texans to stay tied with Indianapolis for second place in the AFC South behind Jacksonville.
If the playoffs started today, they'd still be on the outside looking in, but two of the teams ahead of them – Cleveland and Indianapolis – are still on the schedule. Another team ahead of them, Pittsburgh, lost to the Texans, but head-to-head tiebreakers are for two teams, not multiple teams with the same record.
Ryans wants his players to be focused on the Jets and the Texans' first road game since beating Cincinnati 30-27 on Nov. 12. He'll leave the looking-ahead part to fans and media fixated on the playoff race.
Even though the Jets are 4-8, have a five-game losing streak and haven't scored more than 13 points since Oct. 15, they have a terrific defense that could make life miserable for C.J. Stroud and keep the game close until the end. It's a situation the Texans are familiar with and actually seem to welcome because they've usually handled it well. They haven't lost a road game since Carolina defeated them on a field goal with no time remaining on Oct. 29 for the Panthers' only victory.
"I'm happy to be in those games, and I'm happy to win those games," Ryans said. "Why are we in those games? No one knows how games are going to go. If you knew how they'd go, we'd blow everybody out and get our second-string guys in, but it doesn't work that way.
"Anytime you line up in this league, it's going to be tough. You have to be at your best every week. We've been in some tight games, and it's a credit to our guys for being in position to compete and have an opportunity to win those games at the end. I'm proud of how our guys have grown and how we've handled ourselves in those final moments. Nobody blinks in that moment."
A lot of people around the NFL are blinking at the Texans because they can't believe what they're seeing, a seven-win team on a possible playoff run after combining for seven victories in the last two seasons before Ryans arrived.
"This is 2023 (and) this is our team, our brand of football," Ryans said. "I don't worry about what happened in the past with the Texans."
That's easy for him to say because he was chasing Super Bowls with San Francisco and didn't have to suffer through three seasons that produced 11 victories – two fewer than he helped the 49ers win in 2022.
John McClain can be heard Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on SportsRadio 610 and Monday, Thursday and Sunday on Texans Radio, also on SportsRadio 610. He writes five columns a week and does three Houtopia Football Podcasts for SportsRadio610.com.
