The Houston Texans had Week 5 seemingly won. All they had to do was protect their 19-18 lead and not allow the Atlanta Falcons to kick a game-winning field goal over the course of the final 1:54.
The defense wasn’t able to keep up its end of the bargain as Falcons kicker Youghoe Koo nailed a 37-yard field goal as time expired Oct. 8 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Houston’s two-game winning streak was snapped, and the Texans left Atlanta 2-3.
“They made a couple plays there at the end of the game,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said after the 21-19 loss. “We didn’t, so credit to those guys for stepping up and making a play when they had to.”
The shame of Houston’s loss was it had the makings for rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud’s first career fourth quarter comeback and game-winning drive. The No. 2 overall pick capped off an 11-play, 75-yard drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dalton Schultz the drive prior.
“The momentum started to roll there late,” said Ryans. “I was proud of our offense for the way they drove down at the end of the game to give us an opportunity to go out and finish and win this game, but we came up short.”
Coaching may have come up short for the Texans on the final drive. After Atlanta picked up its initial first down with 1:26 to go in the game, Houston did not use its timeouts. Instead the Falcons advanced to the Texans’ 26-yard line with 55 seconds left before Houston called its first of the second half. Ultimately, the Falcons whittled their way to the Texans’ 19-yard line, compelling Houston to call its remaining two along the way, and setup Koo for the game-winner.
Said Ryans: “When you are in those positions, those two-minute drives, you have to close it out by putting pressure on the quarterback. You have to close it out by making a play when the ball is in the air. We didn’t do either one of those. You’re not going to win games if you play that way.”
The Texans return to NRG Stadium to host the New Orleans Saints Oct. 15.
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