The Colts added Darius Slayton this week, and the veteran receiver wasted no time explaining why the move made sense for him. With Alec Pierce landing on injured reserve because of a heel injury, Slayton saw a path to immediate work in Indianapolis - even if he made it clear he wasn’t celebrating the circumstances.
“Sunday night they they didn’t get the win, but I feel like they played really well,” Slayton said, via JJ Stankevitz of the team’s site. “They’re a good unit.
I saw that Pierce went down - obviously, I wasn’t cheering for that. But I knew that kind of would provide some opportunity here as well.”
Slayton is back with Daniel Jones after spending five years with him in New York, and he said the fit already feels familiar. He described their connection as natural and said the two see the game in a similar way.
“Really enjoyed playing alongside him,” Slayton said. “He’s a good quarterback.
He’s smart. He can spin it.
Philosophically, I think we see the field pretty similarly, and that’s something that worked well for us in the past. And I expect it to work well for us going forward.”
He’s also been leaning on Reggie Wayne, the Colts’ wide receivers coach and a former All-Pro, as he works to get up to speed. Slayton said he has already spent plenty of time around Wayne and expects that to continue.
“Coach Wayne’s probably sick of me already,” Slayton said. “I was with him last night, I was with him again this morning and I’ll probably be with him again tonight. We’ll be spending a lot of time together over the next few days, but that’s kind of the best way for me to close the gap, is to try to absorb as much information as I can.”
For Houston, Sunday’s loss pushed the Texans to 0-3, and the offense has stalled badly. They’ve managed just 23 points over their last two games, and C.J.
Stroud said the problem isn’t coming from one place. What he does know is that the Texans need more explosive plays.
“Honestly, it could be a Rolodex of things. I can’t really pinpoint it,” Stroud said, via the Texans Wire.
“I’ve got to watch the tape, but I just think we’ve got to be aggressive. We can’t just wait to the end.
But I believe that we can - if we find ways to generate more explosives and flip the field or just find points, like those are the type of games that we need to win. But you know, I thought we fought.
But at the same time, I think there’s a lot of things that need to be fixed.”
Stroud said he still believes the Texans can straighten things out, especially as injured players return and the group gets cleaner in practice. Even with the 0-3 start, he said he hasn’t lost confidence in where this team can go.
“Yeah, I think the pieces, of course. Like we’re making plays, but it’s - we’re getting guys back from injury.
I think that’ll help, but I also think just like the fight that I see with our team. I believe we’re not far, but also it doesn’t feel that way because we’re 0-3.
But I think for me, I have the utmost confidence. You can call me crazy.
I don’t really care. But we’ve been here before, and I think this is sadly something that we can learn from what we did in the past and do even better than last time.
That’ll be the goal.”
In Other News...
DeMeco Ryans Just Put The Texans' Biggest Early Problem On Himself
The Texans 0-3 start has already turned every narrow miss into a bigger conversation, and the latest one came in a 19-17 loss to the Colts. Houston has flashed enough on offense to suggest the pieces are there, but the results have not followed, and the frustration is starting to land where it often does in a young season, on the coaching staff and how it is handling the details that decide close games.
DeMeco Ryans put that burden on himself after the loss, saying he has not coached well enough and that the team needs better preparation and adjustments. For a Texans team trying to turn promising stretches into actual wins, the issue now is not just execution on Sundays but whether the sideline can help clean up the decision-making and urgency that have kept those games from flipping in Houstons favor. [Read more 🡒]
DeMeco Ryans Is Trying To Stop Texans Pressure From Getting Worse
The Texans are staring at an 0-3 start for the second straight year, and DeMeco Ryans is trying to keep the season from sliding any further before the schedule gets even more unforgiving. He acknowledged the adversity in front of his team and stressed the need for everyone to stay together and keep their attention on the work ahead, a familiar message for a club trying to steady itself after a rough opening month.
Week 4 brings the Dallas Cowboys, a test that will say plenty about whether Houston can clean up its issues and turn the page. Ryans knows the pressure is only going to build if the Texans keep falling behind early, so the next step is less about talk and more about finding a way to play cleaner football when it matters most. [Read more 🡒]
Texans Are Already Asking Too Much Of C.J. Stroud
Houstons offense has already drifted into a familiar place early in the season, with the ground game failing to match the investment the Texans made at running back and along the offensive line. Through two weeks, the running backs have not consistently generated positive plays, and C.J. Stroud has ended up leading the team in rushing yards, a sign of just how quickly the attack has tilted toward the pass.
For the Texans, that puts an unfair amount on Strouds shoulders and leaves little margin for error if defenses keep treating Houston as a one-dimensional offense. David Montgomery and Woody Marks have not yet given the unit the steadier production it needs, and until that changes, the Texans will keep asking their quarterback to carry far more of the load than any young passer should have to. [Read more 🡒]