Houston Texans Grades: Special Teams
Houston Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn was 3-for-3 in field goal attempts with one field goal for 50 yards. He was also 2-for-2 in extra point attempts, making him responsible for 11 of the 23 points scored by the Texans.
Who knows how bad the score would have been if Fairbairn hadn’t made those kicks, and how the Texans would have run their offense (could it have been worse?) if they didn’t have those two first half field goals?
Texans punter Bryan Anger totaled four punts in the game, including three in the first quarter. He averaged 50.3 yards per punt with a longest punt of 59 yards in the Houston Texans loss.
DeAndre Carter had two punt returns for 14 yards with one fair catch, and on kickoff returns he had two for 51 yards, with a best of 29 yards. The glaring mistake for Carter was a fumble on a punt return that was recovered by the Vikings on the Houston 35-yard line. Seven plays later, the Vikings turned that turnover into three points and a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
There was positives with the kicking game of the Texans, and a huge negative for the return game with the turnover, which somewhat hampers the success of the 11 points scored by Fairbairn.
Grade: C+
Final Overall Grade for Texans: D