In a double-digit loss, there's plenty of blame to go around.
But the Houston Texans could have made it a battle on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.
They could have given a fight worthy of dicussing against a team that might have turned the corner on defense after wasting two prime seasons of the duo known as Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase.
But why did Houston only put up six points? Simple: special teams.
“Not great,” Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said when asked about the unit following a 20-6 loss on Sunday to the Bengals. “Not good enough. It wasn’t winning football from a special teams perspective.”
Everything that could have gone wrong in the third phase of the game did. Even the reliable Ka'imi Fairbairn missed a reasonable kick and wasn't
the clutch man of yesteryear when the offense stalled right in-between his range and going for it on fourth down.
But again, not one sole person deserves blame, even if punter Kai Kroeger's muffed hold negated a 34-yard kick that would have given the Texans a lead. Everyone struggled, including those defending kickoffs and punts.
"We have to do a better job right there of winning the field position battle every time we go out there with our special teams. We have to return it better. We have to eliminate the silly penalties and we have to be able to make our kicks."
Kroeger, the Texans' newest member of the special teams unit, averaged 41.4 yards per punt, giving Cincinnati exceptional field position twice. Coverage downfield was awful, as Cincinnati returner Dohnte Meyers averaged 30 yards per kickoff return. The Bengals also started off inside their own 40 on six occasions, twice becasue of penalties tacking on an extra 10-plus yards.
Even when there was promise in the return game, it was negated by penalties. Tight end Foster Moreau was flagged for a touching call after Houston pinned Cincinnati inside the 20 to place the Bengals just outside the 40. Second-year return man Jaylin Noel had a return of 19 yards, but an illegal-blocking penalty on Jared Wayne negated it to just 3 yards at the end.
"We got a really good defense, and try to stay in front of the sticks, not turn the ball over, kick field goals, put points on the board, we're going to win with our defense," Joe Burrow said postgame.
The Texans will have a chance to prove they still can be special in 2026 starting Sunday when they take on the Indianapolis Colts for the first road game of the 2026 season.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Texans special teams unit anything but in loss to Bengals
