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Joe Mixon, Texans mock Rex Ryan for Chargers playoff take while smoking victory cigars

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh01/12/25griffin_mcveigh
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Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Houston celebrated a playoff victory on Saturday, taking down the Los Angeles Chargers. The Texans defense stood out, typical of a team coached by DeMeco Ryans. Four interceptions from Justin Herbert, including a pick-six, was the storyline coming out.

Following the game, Houston running back Joe Mixon was on Instagram Live with a victory cigar. Teammates surrounded Mixon, saying they were “Smoking on that Rex Ryan pack.” This comes after comments from Ryan, saying the Chargers “had a bye week” facing the Texans.

In sports, sometimes just the smallest edge can wind up being the difference. Houston players clearly took what Ryan said to heart and are now going to celebrate and mock him after the victory.

Ryan originally made his comments during the week while on ESPN’s Get Up!

“I never realized the Chargers got a bye, qualified for a bye,” Ryan said. “But they did because they’re playing Houston.”

ESPN ran a pregame show on Saturday and Ryan doubled down on what he said.

“I hear somebody say it was a bye week and that the Chargers are going to win,” Ryan. “You know who that was? Me! I’m doubling down. I’m all Chargers.”

The take wound up not aging well for Ryan as Houston rolled to a comfortable victory. Los Angeles appeared to be in control early on, especially with turnovers from CJ Stroud. But Herbert began to seemingly gift a few possessions to the Texans and eventually, it was too much to overcome.

As for Mixon himself, the running back smokes his cigar after racking up 106 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. Mixon was going to celebrate the win and his good performance no matter what but decided to give a little extra to Ryan.

Houston now advanced to the next round, waiting on their opponent. Being the four-seed, all kinds of options are on the table for the Divisional matchup. They could head on the road to face the No. 1 seed Kansas City Chiefs or find themselves hosting another playoff game.

Ryan will have at least one more opportunity to doubt the Texans. Maybe he will triple down on his opinion, claiming a team has a bye week heading into the AFC Championship game. You know Mixon and everyone in Houston will be looking for the motivation.