Joey Slye misfired on an extra point. Andre Roberts muffed another punt.
It was a repeat performance Thursday night at NRG Stadium, a nightmarish special teams performance that keeps happening at home and on the roadthis week.
One game after Slye missed wide left on a 41-yard field goal in a road loss to the Cleveland Browns and Roberts muffed a punt that led to a touchdown, Roberts muffed another puntagainst Carolina and Slye missed an extra point that could have tied the game.Slye later made a 53-yard field goal in the fourth quarter of a 24-9 loss.
A three-time Pro Bowl selection, Roberts fumbled a punt in the second quarter and recovered the football. He has five punt returns for 13 yards and seven kickoff returns for158 yards.
“He's a veteran player," Texans coach David Culley said of Roberts. "It just hasn't been two good games from him at that standpoint, but, no, I got the utmost confidence in him.”
Texans special teams coordinator Frank Ross defended Roberts days before kickoff.
“Listen, it’s Andre Roberts,” Ross said. “Everybody knows this guy puts in the work. Has done it time and time again. No secret to myself, to him or to anybody that we’ll play. Nobody wants to get that right more than him. We’ve got to correct it.”
Slye is the replacement for injured kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn, who is making steady progress in his return from a groin injury and is eligible to be activated from injured reserve after missing the first three games of the regular season.
Slye has made 4 of 5 field goals and 7 of 8 extra points through two games and three quarters.
Aaron Wilson has covered the NFL for 20 seasons, including the Texans, Baltimore Ravens, Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. He has previously written for The Houston Chronicle and The Baltimore Sun. He’s on Twitter: @AaronWilson_NFL and Instagram: @aaronwilson7128.
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