Houston Texans FULLBACK (!!) Andrew Beck Returns Kick Off For Touchdown In Upset Win Over Jaguars

The Houston Texans pulled off a big upset on Sunday over their AFC South rival Jacksonville Jaguars. Rookie quarterback CJ Stroud gets the first win of his NFL career. Stroud played very well, as did fellow rookie Tank Dell. But, we'll get to them in a minute. Perhaps the best highlight of the game goes to Andrew Beck.

In case you're unfamiliar, Beck is a 27-year-old fullback for the Houston Texans. He played college football at Texas and went undrafted in 2019. He spent the vast majority of his first four NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos.

This offseason, Houston signed him as a free agent. They expected him to be a key blocker on offense and on special teams. What they did not expect from him is 85-yard touchdowns. In fact, they didn't anticipate many -- if any -- touchdowns.

Beck had one career TD entering Sunday, a one-yard scoring catch during his rookie season with the Broncos. In fact, it had been 1,365 days since Andrew Beck scored an NFL touchdown.

That streak ended in the most inexplicable way on Sunday against the Jaguars. And, the play started about as badly as any kickoff can start.

The Jaguars did a pop-up kick, likely trying to get the Texans returner to call a fair catch to get a touchback. Instead, Beck decided to field the ball. And he dropped it.

But then he picked it up and started breaking tackles. And running. And breaking more tackles. A few seconds later, Beck entered the endzone.

By my count, six Jaguars had a good shot to tackle Beck. But none of them did.

Beck ran the 40-yard dash at the Texas Pro Day in 2019. He recorded a time of 4.63 seconds. That's ... not fast. It's fine for a fullback/tight end, which is what Beck is. Not for a kick returner.

But that didn't really matter on Sunday.

Houston Texans score big upset thanks to Andrew Beck, CJ Stroud and Tank Dell

That touchdown extended Houston's lead back to 14 points after Jacksonville showed signs of life for a potential comeback. CJ Stroud threw for 280 yards and for the first time in his career did not turn the ball over.

Tank Dell, the rookie receiver that Stroud told the Texans to draft, had 145 of those yards and a long touchdown of his own.

Big win for the young Texans who got contributions from nearly everyone on the field.

Written by

Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to OutKick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named "Brady" because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.