NASHVILLE, Tenn. – – After practice during Texans training camp and the first few games of the season, when the media was allowed into the locker room, there were always two players in a fierce competition at the ping pong table.
Back and forth, the ball went across the table as each player continuously tried to gain an advantage over the other, maneuvering about their space, hoping to find that angle that would give them the point.
Often, the other players would gather around to watch the epic one-on-one matchup between quarterback Case Keenum and kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn, who rank first and second on the player rankings on the unofficial ping pong chart.
On Sunday, the two were involved in a different battle on the field to see which would be hailed as the hero of the 19-16 overtime victory over divisional rival Tennessee Titans.
Keenum made his first start in over two years and had to shake the rust off of a bad first half where he put the Texans in a challenging situation by throwing a pick-six to Titans defensive back Elijah Molden in the second quarter that gave Tennessee a 13-point advantage over Houston. With the defense playing lights out, Keenum gained his composure in the second half, leading the offense on a late 10-play, 79-yard drive that ended in a three-yard touchdown pass to Noah Brown to tie the game at 16.
“I’m built for this,” said Keenum, who finished the game with 229 yards passing, one touchdown and one interception. “I’ve been in a lot of situations. I’ve been in a lot of systems, been in a lot of different games. And God’s made me who I am for this, for moments like this. And just trying to make sure that I’m ready when my number’s called. I said it before, you don’t have to get ready if you stay ready.”
"I love Case (Keenum)," Houston Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn said with a smile when asked about Keenum’s performance on Sunday. "We have some epic ping-pong battles, so to see him on the football field, it was fun to watch." #Texans #Sarge #TexansWire pic.twitter.com/aMIsOEySnO
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) December 19, 2023
The savvy 12-year NFL veteran was not done with his second-half heroics. With 1:43 seconds left in overtime, he scrambled away from pressure to find running back Devin Singletary all alone, which resulted in a 41-yard gain to put the Texans into field goal position with a chance to win the game.
Insert Fairbairn, playing in his second consecutive game after dealing with a quadriceps injury that caused him to miss over a month’s worth of action. He had already made three field goals on the day, including his longest of the season of 53 yards to keep the Texans close to the Titans on the scoreboard, but Houston would need him one more time to keep their playoff hopes alive.
With a perfect snap and hold, the eight-year veteran, who is over 70 percent in his career on field goals from 50 yards and farther, split the uprights from 54 yards out to give his team the walk-off win on the same day the Titans were wearing the Houston Oilers throwback uniforms.
“I think part of being in my position as a kicker, you’ve got to welcome those situations and those pressure kicks and not resist them, and just execute when you need to,” said Fairbairn. “I mean, you build that confidence a lot of time throughout the season.”
When asked about the performance of Keenum, Fairbairn couldn’t help but bring his grueling battles with the former University of Houston product in the locker room on the ping-pong table.
“I love Case,” Fairbairn said with a smile. “We have some epic ping-pong battles, so to see him on the football field, it was fun to watch.”
Head coach DeMeco Ryans awarded Fairbairn the game ball, but he will have to work a little harder to gain that No.1 position on the ping-pong rankings from Keenum.
