Ka'imi Fairbairn Has Rough Outing in Loss to Kansas City

The former UCLA kicker struggled to find consistency as his Houston Texans fell to the Kansas City Chiefs, 23-14.

Jan 18, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Houston Texans place kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn (15) attempts a 35 yard field goal attempt that is blocked by the Kansas City Chiefs during the fourth quarter of a 2025 AFC divisional round game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

After a flawless performance last week against the Chargers, former UCLA Bruin and Westwood legend Ka'imi Fairbairn's regular-season struggles reappeared as his Houston Texans fell to the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Arrowhead.

On Saturday, Fairbairn missed two field goals and an extra point, leaving potentially seven points on the board in a 9-point loss. It should be noted that due to what was an 11-point gap with under 20 seconds left in a game, the Chiefs had their punter run around in the end zone before taking a safety in order to kill off more time, leading to a decrease in the time remaining while preventing the Texans from potentially blocking the punt for a score.

However, if Fairbairn made the extra point and one of his missed field goals, the Texans, who outgained the Chiefs by over 100 yards on offense, would've had a last second opportunity to win the game. Fairbairn had misses from 35 and 55 yards. In Fairbairn's defense, his 35-yard kick was blocked by Leo Chenal in one of the worst displays of field goal protection I personally have ever seen in my life. It appeared that four separate Chiefs could've had a hand on the ball as the Texans as an overall unit had one of the worst Special Teams performances in playoff history.

While Fairbairn is being publicly criticized for his performance, with many calling for his job, the 30-year-old is expected back with the Texans next season as his contract won't expire until after 2026. Plus this was one game in a season of success of Houston and realistically, had Fairbairn made all his kicks, Houston still would've lost.

The reality of the situation is that this is football and had his protection team actually done their jobs, the Texans would've had a legitimate opportunity to tie the Chiefs. Fairbairn is being scapegoated for a series of failures, including the Texans simply not paying attention to the details, a failure that gave Kansas City the game.

Fairbairn has a lot of football ahead of him and an offseason filled with rest, recovery and improvement will be exactly what the doctor ordered. Fairbairn will be back in 2026, and he will be better than ever.

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