DeMeco Ryans Reflects on Dare Ogunbowale Houston Texans' Special Teams Chaos in Week 9
The Houston Texans’ 39-37 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was one for the history books. Not only was the game-winning drive a masterclass in performing under pressure, but quarterback C.J. Stroud capped off the performance of a lifetime. His rookie-record 470 passing yards underlined a five-touchdown day that re-established the Texans as a threat down the stretch.
If that wasn’t enough, Houston’s special teams added to the theatrics.
Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn suffered a quad injury during the Week 9 win. As a result, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans turned to backup running back Dare Ogunbowale. Ultimately, he would kick off six times and hit a 29-yard field goal to put Houston up 33-30.
Running back Dare Ogunbowale makes a field goal against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
AP Photo/Eric Gay
It’s safe to say the team rallied around their newfound kicker.
“It provided a spark to a team,” Ryans said. “You look at our kickoff huddle … it was just a juiced-up huddle. You don’t know where the placement was going to be on the kick, but we know we’re going to go down, we’re going to cover to the best of our abilities.”
Houston did a pretty good job of mitigating Fairbairn’s absence with extra emphasis on kickoff coverage (and some Tampa Bay unsportsmanlike conduct penalties).
“Everybody was so excited, just to see Dare, you knew you had to do a little bit extra when it comes to covering the kicks,” Ryans added. “And he did an outstanding job for us.”
While Ogunbowale’s performance was surprising, the Texans’ reaction shouldn’t have been. It all plays well into Ryans repeated principles of a “next man up” mentality and a winning mindset. The special teams went out and made the plays they had to.
That aforementioned field goal attempt only added to the excitement. In a tie game, from the Buccaneers’ 11-yard line, Ryans was faced with a fourth-down decision. After being told his running back hit three-of-four field goals from within 30 yards at halftime, he decided to make the call.
“I just decided at that time we needed points here,” Ryans explained. “Just having the faith that Dare had worked it, he came back out before the second half started, warmed up, and made a couple kicks. So I was confident he would make it from that range.”
That confidence paid off, and Ogunbowale hit his 29-yarder, sending Houston into a frenzy. Ryans eventually embraced the chaos, too. How could he not?
“It was a cool moment,” Ryans said. “Seeing Dare, he did the Steph Curry walk-off. Just seeing how crazy our O-Line was going, and the crowd, our entire team on the sideline just went crazy. That’s when I was able to crack the smile …
“It was just like, ‘I can’t believe we’re here right now!’” Ryans concluded. “But wow, what a moment.”
Sunday was just another chapter in the exciting story of his first year as a head coach. At 4-4, the Texans are still in the thick of things, but a Week 10 date with the Cincinnati Bengals will be a tough task.
Newly-signed kicker Matt Ammendola will likely be promoted to the active roster in Fairbairn’s absence.
