​Houston Texans punter Kai Kroeger (38) mishandles the snap on a field goal attempt by kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn (15) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. Kroeger threw an incomplete pass one the play, turning over the possession back to the Bengals. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle)
Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans didn’t need many words to get across his thoughts on how the special teams unit played in his team’s 20-6 loss Sunday to the Cincinnati Bengals.”Not great,” Ryans said. “Not good enough. It wasn’t winning football from a special teams perspective.”All elements of the unit played below their standard.Kai Kroeger averaged 41.4 yards per punt. A bad snap and hold ruined a field goal attempt from about 34 yards in the first quarter, and Ka’imi Fairbairn later missed a 58-yard attempt. Cincinnati returner Dohnte Meyers averaged 30 yards per kickoff return, including a 40-yarder to open the game. The Bengals won the field-position battle, starting at their own 40-yard line or better six times. Houston’s best starting position was its own 41.”Everybody expects perfection,” Fairbairn said. “That’s what we’re striving for. But it’s not realistic. Things are going to happen even at the highest level.”Both Kroeger and long snapper Austin Brinkman took the blame for the botched operation on the field goal attempt in the first quarter, when the score was still 0-0. Kroeger couldn’t get the ball down for a successful hold on Brinkman’s snap, forcing him to scramble and throw the ball away for a turnover on downs.
Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans taps Houston Texans defensive end Dominique Robinson (94) on the helmet during warm ups before an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle)
Brinkman said the botched play was “just 100% on me.””The snap was not where it needed to be, not where it has been,” Brinkman said. “I put those two other guys in a terrible position.”Kroeger said any snap that reaches him must be placed properly.”If the ball gets to me, it’s my job to get it down as the holder,” Kroeger said. “We’ve got the best kicker in the league, so we’ve got to give him an opportunity to put it through.”Fairbairn couldn’t recall another attempt in his NFL career when he wasn’t able to get a kick off on a field-goal attempt.The next field-goal try wasn’t a smooth operation, either, with what appeared to be another off-kilter snap. But Kroeger was able to get the ball down, and Fairbairn connected from 37 yards.The kicker, who played his 140th game Sunday as a member of the Texans, entered the game 52 of 70 for his career on field-goal attempts from 50 yards or more. But he missed from 58 yards in the third quarter with Houston trailing 10-3. Fairbairn said the kick was “a little toey.”Houston’s special teams weren’t great in the Week 1 loss to the Buf