QB C.J. Stroud won’t blame K Matt Ammendola for Texans’ 24-21 loss to the Jaguars

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud knows that he won’t point the finger at K Matt Ammendola for the 24-21 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Don’t expect C.J. Stroud to point the finger.

The rookie quarterback declared he would not put the Houston Texans’ last play on the blame of kicker Matt Ammendola, who missed a 58-yard field goal that would have tied the game with 29 seconds remaining. Instead the Jacksonville Jaguars took a knee and 24-21 win out of NRG Stadium with first place in the AFC South.

“You can’t put the last play of the game, supposedly, or if it is or if it’s not, you can’t put the whole game on that situation,” Stroud told reporters after the game. “We’ve got to be cleaner and execute better in the first half. I feel like we came out the second half and moved the ball pretty well, but we have to play complementary football offense and defense. We have to help each other out.”

Stroud did his part, going 26-of-36 for 304 yards and two touchdowns. The No. 2 overall pick even rushed six times for 47 yards and a score.

“It’s tough to put it all on the kicker’s hand and everything. I think Matt has done a great job, and we have to put him in better situations,” Stroud said. “Maybe get closer or even go try to score a touchdown and win the game. A lot of different things that could happen and play out a different way.”

The Texans fall to 6-5 on the season, but maintain the No. 6 seed in the AFC wild-card race.

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Why Texans’ DeMeco Ryans may have chosen poorly with field goal against the Jaguars

Here are some answers as to why Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans going for the field goal was wrong, and not just because of the outcome.

Naturally the wrong decision can be gleaned by the fact it didn’t work. Clearly Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans should have gone for it on fourth-and-12 from the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 39-yard line rather than send out kicker Matt Ammendola to attempt a 58-yard field goal.

According to Doug Farrar from the Touchdown Wire, the decision to put the game on the foot of a known quantity was suspect at best.

Ammendola did indeed nearly tie the game, but we have to look at the process here. Ammendola has been in the NFL since 2021. and New York Jets, the Arizona Cardinals, the Kansas City Chiefs, and now the Texans, he had never made a field goal attempt of 50 or more yards. The last time he even attempted one was with the Jets in 2021 — in fact, he attempted three that season, and he missed them all.

Furthermore, if you go back to Ammendola’s career at Oklahoma State, he hadn’t made a field goal attempt of 50 or more yards since 2017.

So, again, we have to wonder why.

https://twitter.com/JohnHCrumpler/status/1728891047697416578

Going with Stroud isn’t typical second-guessing. Stroud had led the Texans with two game-winning drives entering Week 12. Albeit Ammendola was a key cog in the win over the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 10, the reality is Stroud’s heroics all season have placed Houston in the position to have a first place showdown with the Jaguars mean anything.

Ryans chose the proven commodity of a backup kicker’s leg over his No. 2 overall pick’s arm.

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See the best reactions from Texans K Matt Ammendola’s 58-yard missed FG

See the best reactions from Texans K Matt Ammendola’s 58-yard missed field goal that handed the Jacksonville Jaguars a 24-21 win in Week 12.

Football is a game of inches, and Houston Texans kicker Matt Ammendola certainly displayed that truism in Week 12 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

On a game-tying 58-yard field goal, Ammendola’s kick hit the crossbar and bounced into the end zone, rendering the Texans losers 24-21 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 12 at NRG Stadium.

Twitter was full of takes and remarks surrounding the Texans’ heartbreaking loss. Here are some of the best posts.

Texans RB Dare Ogunbowale earns special teams praise from NBC Sports

Houston Texans running back Dare Ogunbowale picked up special teams praise from NBC Sports’ Peter King.

The Houston Texans were fortunate to have Dare Ogunbowale active for the third time in 2023.

The reserve running back provided the Texans’ with a much-needed 29-yard field goal throughout Houston’s thrilling 39-37 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday at NRG Stadium. Ogunbowale also handled kickoff duties in place of an injured Ka’imi Fairbairn.

According to Peter King from NBC Sports, Ogunbowale was his pick for one of two special teams players of the week.

Dare Ogunbowale, running back/kicker, Houston. For the first time in 19 years, an NFL player who is not a kicker made a field goal in a game. After Houston kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn suffered a quad injury in the first half against Tampa, Ogunbowale took over kicking duties and booted a 29-yard field goal in a 39-37 win for the Texans. Also notable: His kickoff with seconds to go, after the Texans took the 39-37 lead, made it to the end zone and handed the Bucs a very long field with six seconds to go. “Dare is our player of the game,” Houston coach DeMeco Ryans said.

Although in preseason, the last time a non-kicker handled such duties for Houston was in the 2021 exhibition finale against the Bucs at NRG Stadium. Safety Justin Reid kicked in place of Fairbairn, who sustained an injury pregame warmups.

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WATCH: Texans RB Dare Ogunbowale kicks off against the Buccaneers

Running back Dare Ogunbowale had to handle kickoff duties for the Houston Texans in Week 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Houston Texans had to get creative.

Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn injured his quad against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday in Week 9 at NRG Stadium. The former Lou Groza Award winner left the game at halftime with the Texans trailing 17-10.

The Texans went with Ogunbowale, who just happened to be activated for Week 9 due to an injury to starting running back Dameon Pierce. If not for the injury to Pierce, the Texans may not have had a reason to activate Ogunbowale, who has consistently been a healthy scratch in 2023.

The last time Fairbairn was hurt in a game was in the 2021 preseason finale incidentally against the Buccaneers at NRG Stadium. Safety Justin Reid handled the kicking duties.

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Texans special teams coach Frank Ross admires Ka’imi Fairbairn’s consistency

Houston Texans special teams coach Frank Ross appreciates how kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn has started the season with consistency.

The only big change to hit Ka’imi Fairbairn on the football field is a number change.

The Houston Texans’ kicker sports No. 15 now that quarterback C.J. Stroud obtained the rights to No. 7, Fairbairn’s number from 2017-22. Although the numeral has changed, the production on the field is close to where it was a year ago.

Fairbairn finished 2022 with a 93.5% hit rate on field goals (29-31). Through five games this season, the former UCLA Bruin is 93.8% (15-16).

Texans special teams coach Frank Ross told reporters Oct. 12 the reliability from Fairbairn makes for an impressive trait.

“He’s loose, man, and he does a great job of staying level-headed,” Ross said. “Nothing is too big or too small, he’s just the same person every day — consistency. Happy with where he’s at. No kicker is perfect, but whenever we’re in practice and we miss a kick then he does his best to make that correction in real time in the moment and not over correcting it. Just be whatever correction he’s made.”

Fairbairn has also been consistent on extra points. Since Week 1 of last year, the Texans are 34-34 on extra points, which is the much preferred kick attempt the Texans would like to see from the former Lou Groza Award winner.

“Hopefully he continues to grow and anytime we go out on the field, we expect points,” said Ross.

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DE Will Anderson engaged to ‘do whatever it takes’ for Texans defense, special teams

Houston Texans rookie defensive end Will Anderson says he is willing to undertake any task to help the team meet its objectives for victory.

Defensive players were top-heavy in the 2022 NFL draft.

The Jacksonville Jaguars picked Georgia linebacker Travon Walker off the top, and the Detroit Lions followed up with Michigan’s disruptive defensive end Aidan Hutchinson at No. 2 overall. The Houston Texans went with cornerback Derek Stingley next, and the New York Jets echoed with Sauce Gardner at No. 4. The New York Giants got into the action with Oregon’s hybrid defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux at No. 5.

Three edge defenders were selected with the first five picks of the draft, which was somewhat predictable with the amount of defensive talent entering the three-day event. Most analysts projected that those three players would be off the board within the first five selections; they couldn’t predict which team.

The first three picks of the 2023 NFL draft completely blindsided analysts.

Many considered it a quarterback-heavy draft featuring Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, and Will Levis — the Texans, in desperate need of a quarterback, selected Stroud with the second overall pick. The Arizona Cardinals were on the clock after Houston. In a shocking move, the Texans swapped picks with Arizona to select Alabama defensive end Will Anderson.

Although he was regarded as one of the best edge rushers in college over the last two years, many were surprised that the Texans general manager Nick Caserio would make a bold move and mortgage off future draft capital needed during Houston’s rebuilding years. But Caserio knew what he was doing, and he had the help of former defensive standout linebacker from the University of Alabama and current head coach DeMeco Ryans as an advisor to ensure him that the team was making the right move.

All Anderson has done in his brief NFL career, which consists of three games played, is prove to the naysayers and critics that he was worth every draft pick the team used to acquire him.

“I look at it as a blessing and following God’s plan,” said Anderson about going top-5 in the draft. “It was a very special moment in time because I am just trying to put on for the rest of the edge guys out here. To show that we are top contenders for being drafted high and we deserve to be drafted high. Being an edge, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to get to the quarterback, and that is not easy. It is a craft that you have to work at consistently and have a relentless motor.”

The former two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year has been very consistent on the defensive side of the ball this season with 13 total tackles, one sack, and a team-high five quarterback hits. He has been persistent from the edge, often drawing a double team, which shows respect for such a young player. Against the Jaguars in Week 3, Anderson’s ferocity helped put pressure on starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence, which led to his many uncharacteristic mistakes.

“The disruption, especially from Will, has been there,” Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke told the media. “The hits — I mean, he had like three hits in the first series of the game, I think, and the pressures and those sorts of things – so we ask the line to be disruptive and affect the quarterback, and he’s been doing that.”

One character trait that teammates have noticed about Anderson since his arrival at NRG Stadium is his unrelenting work ethic and willingness to do whatever it takes to help make the team successful. That attribute was displayed Sunday in Houston’s 37-17 victory over Jacksonville. Anderson lined up on special teams and erupted through the Jaguars line to block a 51-yard field-goal attempt, becoming the first rookie to block a field goal for the Texans since J.J. Watt in 2011.

“At the end of the day, I am here to play more than just defensive end,” said Anderson exclusively to the Texans Wire. “I am here to do whatever the coaches ask me to do, and my biggest thing is just being all in with the team.

“Everybody here wants to be a part of something. They don’t want to do just one job; they want to have their hands in something that helps the team. When you have teammates like that, it just makes it so much easier to win and build that team chemistry. Everyone wants to do more and give more for the organization because everyone is bought in and committed, and when you have teammates like that, the sky is the limit. I just want to make sure I am doing my part.”

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WATCH: Texans DE Will Anderson blocks Jaguars field goal

Houston Texans defensive end Will Anderson blocked a field goal in Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

One of the reasons the Houston Texans moved up to the No. 3 overall pick to take Will Anderson was for his game-changing abilities.

Naturally the Alabama product would be able to affect the game as a pass rusher, which is what the bulk of his two-time Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year awards were comprised of.

What about special teams?

The rookie showcased his athleticism Sunday afternoon in Week 3 at TIAA Bank Field against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Kicker Brandon McManus attempted a 51-yard field goal with 12:02 to go in the second quarter, but Anderson blocked the attempt.

Houston used Anderson’s special teams splash play to setup a scoring drive wherein fellow rookie C.J. Stroud hit tight end Brevin Jordan to push the Texans ahead 14-0.

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Report: Texans work out punters Matt Haack and Pat O’Donnell

The Houston Texans worked out veteran punters Pat O’Donnell and Matt Haack to conclude Week 1.

The Houston Texans want to see if they can get better with their punting unit.

According to Aaron Wilson from KPRC-TV, the Texans worked out veteran punters Matt Haack and Pat O’Donnell Monday.

Haack was last with the Indianapolis Colts where he played 17 games in 2022. The former Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins punter averaged 44.8 yards per punt and had 28 inside the 20-yard line with just three touchbacks.

O’Donnell spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Chicago Bears and last year with the Green Bay Packers. The former 2014 sixth-round pick produced 44.5 yards per punt and had 24 punts inside the 20 with one that went for a touchback. O’Donnell also led the league with two punts blocked.

Rookie Ty Zentner punted four times with a 44.0 average and one touchback in the 25-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1.

The Texans also brought in running back Gerrid Doaks and receiver Jared Wayne for visits.

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Houston Texans 53-man roster: Who made the cut?

Take a look at who made the cut for the Houston Texans.

The Houston Texans made it to 3:00 p.m. Central Time with their roster under 53 men, meeting the NFL’s deadline.

Here is a list at who the Texans decided to keep on their 53-man roster at the deadline. It is worth mentioning the Texans have to wait until 12:00 p.m. on Aug. 30 before they can construct their practice squad. The way the roster looks today may not be the final version when they enter Week 1 as there is still tinkering with injured players that must be finalized.

Nevertheless here is how the Texans made their way from 90 players in the offseason to 53 at the end of preseason. The list is unofficial.