For the Texans, the victory carried special emotional weight. Ryans revealed he had lost his best friend, former Texans defensive end Earl Cochran, and dedicated the win to his memory. "First, I have to give glory to God," Ryans said through visible emotion. "I lost my best friend, Earl Cochran. I know he's smiling down on us right now. He would be very proud."
Ryans described Cochran as "a stand-up guy. Close friend, loving, caring, big heart, give the shirt off his back to anybody."
The Texans' young players continued to impress throughout the game. Rookie LT Aireontae Ersery has improved weekly while playing one of football's most demanding positions. Rookie WRs Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins made key contributions, as did RB Woody Marks.
"We have a lot of young guys," Mills said. "When a young guy comes in, you never want it to seem like there's a young guy in the football game. They're out here making plays. They know exactly what their job is on every play and it's fun having them out there in the huddle because they bring some juice."
Mills, who has spent the season backing up Stroud, maintained a measured perspective on his opportunity. "I come in with the mentality every day that I'm going to bring my best self to the facility every morning. I'm going to push everyone around me to become the best football player they can be and I'm going to push myself to become the best football player I can be."
His teammates clearly believed in him. "The guys had faith in me that I could go out there and get the job done," Mills said.
Ryans hopes the victory serves as a turning point for his team, particularly in how they respond to adversity. "I look at the game as I look at life. Bad things are going to happen. Do you hang your head and go run and hide? Do you quit? Do you give up? No, you keep punching. In life, in football, you got to keep punching and that's what this game showed today."
The coach summed up what he wants his players to take from this improbable win: "You just have to keep playing with heart, playing with resilience and hopefully the film shows our guys proof that we can battle and win in any type of game."