KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For a long time, Texans veteran kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn sat at his locker in silence as he gathered his thoughts on arguably the roughest game of his career.
Fairbairn and punter Tommy Townsend, seated next to him, were reflecting on what unfolded in a 23-14 AFC divisional round playoff loss to the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
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It was a tough day at the office for a normally stalwart kicking game.
The special teams got off to a bad start on the opening play of the game as Chiefs kickoff returner Nikko Remigio bolted 63 yards on a return to open the game as cornerback Jeff Okudah missed an open field tackle. Although Remigio fumbled on a strip from cornerback Kris Boyd, the Chiefs recovered as Boyd threw his helmet in celebration and then shoved special teams coordinator Frank Ross when he was confronted at the sideline about his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Boyd would later say it was a misunderstanding, that he was celebrating what he thought was a fumble recovery and that he had no ill intent toward Ross.
That set the tone for an awful day for the special teams as they allowed 142 total return yards and Fairbairn misfired on three of his five total kicks.
“I think it always hurts when you don’t perform on the field, especially when it’s my job to do that,” Fairbairn said. “I want to perform for my teammates, the fans, all of Houston. Yeah, it hurts.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- #Texans veteran kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn on missed field goal, blocked kick and missed extra point 'It always hurts. I want to perform for my teammates, the fans, all of Houston. Yeah, it hurts' @KPRC2 He made zero excuses about the wind. pic.twitter.com/E2IiW4v66v
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 19, 2025
Plus, the Texans committed two special teams penalties, including Boyd’s helmet toss as Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s team advanced to the AFC championship game.
“For me, it is the frustration on all three phases,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said “It is special teams, defense, and offense. We didn’t get it done. Congrats to Andy and the Chiefs. They deserve it. They have done a great job over the past few years of being consistent and that is why they have been champions because they consistently get the job done no matter how the game goes they find a way to close games out. Congrats to those guys and I wish them the best moving forward.
“With that, knowing going into this game what we were up against, we can’t make the mistakes that we made. We had a lot of self-inflicted mistakes that happened. Whether it’s special teams not converting our kicks. Defensively, not being where we were supposed to be in coverage. Offensively, not protecting our quarterback and keeping him clean. You marry that on top of everything else we have to deal with, and it’s going to be a really tough uphill battle.”
As glaring as those errors were, it was Fairbairn missing kicks and having one attempt blocked that stood out just as much.
“I think I just tried to kick it too hard, honestly,” Fairbairn said. “I tried to attack it too much and it came off weird and kicked the ground a little bit.”
CHIEFS BLOCKED THE FIELD GOAL TO KEEP THE LEAD AT 11 🤯 pic.twitter.com/MtndLDCi3e
— ESPN (@espn) January 19, 2025
In the case of Boyd, it was an obvious error. Regardless of his train of thought, why would he think throwing his helmet was a good idea.
The penalty led to a Chiefs field goal and an early 3-0 lead.
After tying the score at 3 with a 30-yard field goal, Fairbairn was unable to connect on a 55-yard field goal in the second quarter that would have tied the game. Instead, his kick sailed wide right far away from the target on a cold, blustery day at Arrowhead Stadium. The average was 17 miles per hour winds. Fairbairn didn’t blame the wind, though, and the conditions didn’t affect Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker during a perfect performance on three field goals and a pair of extra points.
“It didn’t change much,” Fairbairn said. “It maybe picked up here and there. It was gusty, but Harrison Butker made all his kicks. So, it was my job to make all of mine.”
Fairbairn also missed an extra point after a touchdown by running back Joe Mixon.
Plus, he missed a 35-yard attempt that ricocheted off former Texans safety Justin Reid.
It was an overall frustrating day for Fairbairn who set an NFL record during the season and was voted a Pro Bowl alternate along with Townsend, who had a 34-yard shank in the fourth quarter that led up to a Chiefs field goal from Butker.
“Not really sure where the blocker came from,” Fairbairn said of the last kick. “Maybe I need a faster (operation), but obviously want to make those kicks for my team. It’s my job to make those kicks. Nothing I can really say much to it right now but learn from it and take it into the next season.”
KA’IMI FAIRBAIRN MISSED THE XP TO TIE THE GAME FOR THE TEXANS pic.twitter.com/5xHgr7ZRb8
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) January 18, 2025
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com
