Texans RB Dare Ogunbowale Kicked A Go-Ahead Field Goal In The Fourth Quarter

When the Houston Texans came out for the second half of their game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, they had an unusual look to their kicking unit. Backup running back Dare Ogunbowale was the one kicking it deep to open the half after Ka’imi Fairbairn got injured and couldn’t give it a go coming out of the break.

That led to a fascinating situation where, for much of the second half, every time the Texans got deep into the red zone, they were going for it on fourth down and/or going for two-point conversions after touchdowns. That plan was working well for them, as they’d racked up 20 points in the second half, spurred on by a more aggressive approach due to their kicking situation.

However, with the game tied at 30-30 in the fourth quarter, the offense stalled out in the red zone and, this time, DeMeco Ryans called on Ogunbowale to try a go-ahead field goal from 29 yards out.

The backup running back turned emergency kicker absolutely drilled it, with a field goal that looked better than some we’ve seen from actual kickers in similar situations. It was a very cool scene as you could see how excited the entire special teams unit was for Ogunbowale and even Ryans had to crack a smile after taking a big exhale seeing the go-ahead kick go through the uprights.