Texans lose 27-19 to Seahawks amid special teams struggles

Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn faced frustration after a short kickoff late in Houston's 27-19 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, which prevented the Texans from preserving a two-minute warning timeout. Despite this mistake, Fairbairn had an overall strong season performance, successfully making both of his field-goal attempts (from 36 and 46 yards) and his only extra point in the game, maintaining an 86.7% field-goal accuracy and perfect extra-point record for the season. Texans coach DeMeco Ryans emphasized the importance of execution, highlighting that the plan was to kick the ball out of bounds to utilize the two-minute warning, a plan that wasn't executed properly. Beyond the kickoff error, the Texans struggled with 10 penalties, turnovers, and an offense that failed to capitalize on opportunities, allowing the Seahawks' star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba to dominate. Fairbairn himself acknowledged his mis-hit kick and vowed to correct the mistake, noting it was a result of being too aggressive in a situation that called for conservatism. Overall, while Fairbairn’s kicking remained reliable, the Texans’ broader execution issues contributed significantly to their defeat.