Texans RB Mark Ingram eschews outside criticism: ‘We don’t care about them people’
If anyone had a power ranking, the Houston Texans were at the bottom of it at every point in the 2021 offseason.
However, with Week 1 almost in the books, the Texans are 1-0. At least for one week, they have to be off the bottom and somewhere near the middle.
For running back Mark Ingram, the outside noise was never an issue as the team didn’t place any value on such opinions to begin with.
“We don’t care about them people,” Ingram said. “We don’t care. If you doubt us or doubt someone, like we don’t really care. We all believe in each other. We all have faith in each other. We all hold each other accountable, and we believe we have what we need in order to have success. We don’t really care about nobody else that don’t support us or nobody else that don’t believe in us. It’s irrelevant.”
Ingram’s 26 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown were a big part of the Texans’ rushing attack, which generated 160 yards and two touchdowns on 41 carries. Along with Tyrod Taylor’s 291 passing yards and two passing touchdowns, the Texans’ ball-control offense held the Jacksonville Jaguars in check as Houston picked up its first win of the year, 37-21.
“That’s what you play the game for,” said Ingram. “That’s what we’ve prepared all off season for, all training camp. We believe in each other. We believe that we have everything we need to get wins and have success.”
Ingram was particularly pleased to pick up a victory for coach David Culley, who was making his coaching debut at 65 years old. Culley had worked with Ingram the past two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens where he was the receivers coach and passing game coordinator.
Said Ingram: “To go out there and get Coach Culley his first win, I think that’s something we’re all proud of and we’re happy for him. This is just the start. We’ve got a lot more to do, a lot of improving to do to get better and keep winning.”
The Texans have a chance to keep winning when they take on the Cleveland Browns next Sunday at 12:00 p.m. Central Time at FirstEnergy Stadium.
