Selected quotes from the Jets' and Texans' locker rooms at NRG Stadium following the Jets' 24-17 loss at Houston on Sunday afternoon:
Head coach Todd Bowles on if he thinks the Jets the past five games have been underachieving...
"I don't think we're underachieving. I don't think we're executing. It's not about under- or overachieving. It's about doing your job and knowing what you have to do. And the past couple of weeks we haven't done it."
Bowles on how long he can be patient waiting for his younger players to increase their production...
"Our rookies have got to stop being rookies. They need to grow up. They get paid like everybody else and they've got to start acting like they're not in college anymore."
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick on what he said to WR Devin Smith after their failed connection at the goal line...
"We didn't catch the ball, I didn't throw the ball perfect on certain plays, I threw two interceptions at the end of the game. But there's always going to be adversity in this game and it's just something you can't re-create. In other spots where he needs his teammates to pick him up, I need my teammates to pick me up. But he's got to know that's going to happen again, and he's going to get that same pass and that same ball in a similar situation and I'm going to expect him to make the play. The thing about this game is that there's going to be more chances for him. He's got a bright future ahead of him, and he's just got to learn to put that one away and be great."
Fitzpatrick on his performance...
"I didn't play well. There were a lot of throws I needed to make that I didn't make, and obviously having two chances there at the end and not coming up with the touchdown on one of those drives hurts."
WR Eric Decker on the Texans' third-down defense, which held the Jets to 3-for-14 conversions...
"I don't know what the stats are, but when you are in third-and-long, it is a very hard distance to complete and get a first down. For us it starts on first and second down, moving the ball, getting us in manageable situations. We have to execute. That's what it all comes down to."
WR Brandon Marshall on what's missing for the Jets during their recent slump...
"It has nothing to do with any passion. Like I've always said, these guys love football, we love football. It comes down to some chemistry of we've got a lot of guys coming in and what we're trying to do is unprecedented. But that's not an excuse. It's hard for guys to come together and be hitting on all cylinders, but at this point in the season, when we're late or deep into it, we can't wait until we're behind to fight."
Fitzpatrick on his left thumb nine days after undergoing surgery...
"It wasn't an issue at all. I wasn't sure going into the game if it was going to be much different presurgery and postsurgery, but it wasn't a factor."
Texans coach Bill O'Brien on working Cecil Shorts into their game plan against the Jets...
"We felt like we had to be creative, so we were kind of throwing out some names. Did this guy do it? Has this guy every played Wildcat? We knew [Jonathan] Grimes had done it for us last year, so we knew we had him and then I went up to Cecil [Shorts] and he said he did it at Mount Union. So I said stay after practice and throw a few. He threw and he looked good throwing. He can throw and he can run the Wildcat. ... I was reminded that he was the one that threw the touchdown pass against us last year in the Jacksonville game. He threw it back to [Jordan] Todman on the trick play last year. Me being the moron that I am, I forgot that. I was reminded of that, so we put some plays in for him."
Texans DE J.J. Watt on being stopped for the first time in his career — by S Calvin Pryor's pass defense — when a pass is thrown to him on the goal line...
"I think anybody would be disappointed when you don't make a play. You have to remember those guys get paid, too. That was a heck of a play by that guy. He earned it. ... It doesn't much matter to me [what Pryor said to him after the play]. When you make the play, you get to trash-talk. That's what you earn when you make the play."
T Breno Giacomini on seeing Watt's play up close...
"It's exactly what we saw. He made a couple of plays there on the back side. On the sack, I just kind of lost my hand there and he finished around the corner. The holding call, Fitz just took off. You can say all you want. Technique wins every time and he had a little bit better technique than I did today."
Giacomini on if the loss at Houston was a missed opportunity for the Jets...
"Yes, every loss is a missed opportunity. We try to go 1-and-0 every week. We didn't do that. Where are we at right now, .500? That's not gonna cut it. Losing is not accepted in this league."
