When Tremon Smith was working with Houston Texans special teams coordinator Frank Ross on the return playbook for the Week 15 tilt against the Jacksonville Jaguars, there was one return that he wanted to try against their AFC South foes.
“If we got the right kick and I made a couple guys miss that it could go the distance,” Smith said of the return. “So, of course, I asked him to start off the game with it.”
The first return was a touchback, but the Texans’ offense mounted a 15 play, 75-yard drive that resulted in rookie quarterback Davis Mills connecting with receiver Brandin Cooks for a 22-yard touchdown to give Houston a 7-0 lead.
When the Jaguars kicked a 22-yard field goal and kicked off, Smith had his second chance.
“The second one, it was just — it was the perfect — just like practice,” Smith said. “We practiced all week. I told the guys you’re just getting in front of your guys, wall them off, do what you need to do. We’ll get to the end zone. They did a great job of that.”
Coach David Culley said after the 30-16 win that Smith getting to the end zone was a culmination of his potential throughout the season.
“He is so explosive back there and he’s been close before,” said Culley. “Our special teams this week did a nice job of preparation from the standpoint of understanding that if we took care of our business and we block well and gave our returners, punt returner and kickoff returner, an opportunity to get through the hole there that there’s a chance to score, and they did a really nice job of that.”
Smith joked that he has to buy his blockers on the kickoff return something for Christmas because their efforts led to the Texans getting their first kickoff return touchdown since 2009.
“I haven’t came up with it yet, but I’m going to get them something nice for just setting it up for me,” said Smith. “I couldn’t do it without my blockers. I don’t know, it’s just a good feeling. In 2018, I had something like that happen. And I got tackled on like the 3-yard line. So I can’t wait to get rid of that video.”
The Texans improve to 3-11 on the season while the Jaguars fall to 2-12.