Everything DeMeco Ryans said after Texans fall short in playoffs again

The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Houston Texans 23-14 on Saturday in the AFC Divisional Round. The game was closer than the final score suggests, even though the Chiefs led virtually the entire game.

A few lucky breaks — a few different whistles, maybe a made kick here or there — and we are probably talking about a Texans victory. This was not some dominant performance from the two-time reigning champs. Houston out-gained Kansas City's offense by 124 yards. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were connected as always, but the rest of the Chiefs' offense was exceedingly muted. Only a single wide receiver, Xavier Worthy, actually registered a reception.

And yet, the Chiefs won, because the Chiefs always seem to win on this stage. Houston's offense looked overwhelmed down the stretch. That fourth quarter was a Steve Spagnuolo masterclass, with Texans fans beginning to turn on their young wunderkind in the OC role, Bobby Slowik.

C.J. Stroud threw for 245 yards, but also took eight sacks. Kansas City smartly sprinkled in blitzes and continually blew up the line of scrimmage on third and fourth downs. Houston's offensive line has been a point of weakness all season, but it was especially bad on Saturday. Factor in two missed field goals and a whiffed PAT from Ka'imi Fairbairn, and the Texans were toast.

After the game, Houston's head coach, DeMeco Ryans, gave his honest assessment to reporters.

Everything DeMeco Ryans said after Texans' loss to Chiefs in AFC Divisional Round

Naturally, one of the prevalent talking points stemming from Saturday's game was the refs' treatment of Patrick Mahomes. The whistle always seems to favor the Chiefs. Such is the advantage of winning back-to-back Super Bowls and rostering the best quarterback in the world. Patrick Mahomes knows a thing or two about flopping, too.

The Chiefs' QB was the beneficiary of a couple, um, questionable calls in Kansas City's win. The first ws this weak roughing the passer call on Will Anderson in the first quarter.

Then in the third quarter, Mahomes was "hit" "illegally" on this slide in traffic, during which very little contract was actually made to the Chiefs' gunslinger.

When asked about what could be perceived as a preferential whistle in Kansas City's favor, Ryans kept it blunt: it was always Houston against the world.

There was also the matter of Kris Boyd's penalty on the opening kickoff after Houston gave up a long return. The veteran cornerback tossed his helmet and pushed his special teams coach, Frank Ross, leading to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. That set up a Chiefs field goal and three easy points.

Ryans did not see the push on the sideline, but he nonetheless took issue with Boyd's behavior. He said it put the team in a "negative light," and it's hard to disagree. That was not the tone-setter Houston needed in an uphill battle.

In the end, Houston made too many mistakes to beat a sharp, experienced Chiefs team. Ryans was kind enough to list all the ways Saturday's game went wrong for Houston.

"Knowing going into this game what we were up against, we can't mistakes that we made. We had a lot of self-inflicted mistakes that happened, special teams, not converting our kicks, not being where we're supposed to be in coverage, not protecting our quarterback and keeping him clean. You marry that on top of everything else we had to deal with, it's going to be a really tough uphill battle."

Ryans has been excellent through two years on Houston's sideline. He is one of the brightest up-and-coming coaches in the sport. That said, the Texans clearly have hurdles left to clear. Postseason execution has been a problem. We shall see if next season ends any differently.