WATCH: Andrew Beck Rumbles For Kickoff Return TD For Texans
When there's a kickoff return for a touchdown, it's usually a speedy wide receiver or running back that outruns the coverage team, but what about a fullback?
Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Brandon McManus kicked off 55 yards that didn't reach the Houston Texans' kick returner Mike Boone in the end zone. Instead, it was muffed by former Texas Longhorns fullback Andrew Beck at the 10-yard line.
Beck ran and picked up the muffed kick off, regathered then went to work. He juked twice and made three Jaguars miss in the process, sprinting for the far sideline while stiff-arming cornerback Tre Herndon.
While running down the sideline, Beck high-stepped over diving attempts by McManus and running back D'Ernest Johnson on his route to the end zone which gave the Texans a 24-10 lead.
The improbability of the return was similar to that of former New England Patriots offensive lineman Dan Connolly's 71-yard kickoff return against the Green Bay Packers in 2010.
Beck became the first Texans return man since former cornerback Tremon Smith returned a 98-yard kickoff on the road against the Jaguars Dec. 19, 2021.
The Texans needed a response in a huge way after Jacksonville had just kicked a 33-yard field goal to draw within a touchdown. Houston had opened up a 17-0 halftime lead that the Jaguars slowly started to chip away at, and Beck's kickoff return squandered the momentum they had been mounting.
That was Beck's first career kickoff return, and he made the most of it in a big way.