Rex Ryan put a cigar in his mouth when he was supposed to be eating crow.
The ESPN analyst and possible second-term Jets head coach said last week that the Chargers had a “bye week” by playing the Texans in the AFC Wild Card Round, which sparked a firestorm for the Texans. It seems that I added .
Final score: Texans 32, Chargers 12.
The Texans mocked Ryan while smoking a cigar in the locker room (seen in a video on social media), which gave Ryan a chance to have his final words on ESPN's “NFL Countdown” on Sunday.
“If you have the best players, you can motivate the team,” Ryan said jokingly, picking up his own cigar. “As expected. Who had the worst day, me or Justin Herbert? We're probably right there.”
Herbert threw four interceptions for the Chargers, including a pick-six.
“I have to take my hat off to them,” Ryan said of the Texans. “That team really played their hearts out. You know, if you guys were going to play like that, I would have won you the Super Bowl. I saw that and went into it. Masu, [Texans] Against playoff teams, they have 1 win and 5 losses. Sorry, Houston. ”
It was cigar-toting running back Joe Mixon who delivered the punchline against Ryan.
“I'm smoking a Rex Ryan bye week pack,” Mixon said in the video.
The AFC South champion and fourth-seeded Texans will face either the top-seeded Chiefs or third-seeded Ravens in next week's divisional playoffs. The opponent will be determined by the winner of Sunday's Broncos-Bills game.
Ryan's apology didn't last long.
“I won’t choose you next week either,” Ryan declared. “Or maybe I will.”
The Jets aren't scheduled to face the Texans until 2027, so even if Ryan is hired as the Jets' head coach, it could be a while before he has to face the music.
He interviewed last week, but with Mike Vrabel going to the Patriots, one of the top candidates was left out of the roster, and he was immediately taunted by Ryan.
