One of the more puzzling decisions Houston Texans coach David Culley made in the 25-22 loss to the New England Patriots was sending kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn out for a 56-yard field goal.
Houston was ahead 22-15 with the Texans at the Patriots’ 38-yard line with 13:29 to go in the fourth quarter. Facing a fourth-and-4, Culley called a timeout, Houston’s first of the second half.
Were the Texans setting up to go for it? No, they were sending Fairbairn out for the field goal at a distance he was 0-for-3 in his career. His longest field goal made was 55 yards from Dec. 17, 2017, against the San Francisco 49ers.
Culley told reporters after the game that they felt Fairbairn was in range.
“The decision there was the fact that we felt like he was in his range,” Culley said. “He’s our kicker. Got the utmost confidence in him. He had a tough day up to that point but had made one. We felt if we made that field goal it’s a two-score ball game. That’s why I made the decision to kick.”
The miss setup the Patriots first-and-10 from the New England 46-yard line. It only took rookie quarterback Mac Jones seven plays to go 54 yards and tie the game with a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Hunter Henry.
It wasn’t Fairbairn’s only miss of the game. Houston also had two extra points missed after scoring their first two touchdowns of the game.
Culley is not considering a new kicker despite Fairbairn spending the first three games on injured reserve with a hamstring.
Said Culley: “I haven’t even thought about that.”
The Texans fall to 1-4 on the year, but get back into action on Oct. 17 against the Indianapolis Colts in Week 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
