HOUSTON – Ka’imi Fairbairn followed his traditional routine to the letter, walking off his steps, measuring the distance between his foot and the uprights in his mind before a powerful swing of his right leg launched the football through the air.
The Texans’ ultra-reliable kicker connected on field goals from 55, 50 and 49 yards and hit all three of his extra points for 11 of the team’s 23 points in a narrow win over the Las Vegas Raiders. He is the first player in franchise history to reach the 1,000-point milestone and now has 1,005 career points as the all-time leading scorer for the Texans.
Recommended Videos
For the season, Fairbairn has hit 36 of 40 field goals for a 90 percent success rate and 24 of 24 extra points. After a rough ending to last season with misfires in the Texans’ AFC divisional round playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, Fairbairn has manufactured one of the best seasons of his nine-year career. He has done so with a new long snapper in rookie Austin Brinkman, too.
“I think we’ve built a good routine and trust in each other, so we’re just going to keep it rolling,” Fairbairn told KPRC 2. “That’s the mark of a good pro, is being consistent. So, yeah, we’re going to keep that up.”
Fairbairn, 31, has made 50 of 68 kicks from beyond 50 yards with a career-long of 61 yards.
A former consensus All-American and Lou Groza award winner from UCLA, Fairbairn has a 21.9 percent touchback rate this year.
“I can’t say enough about ‘Imi’ and the comfort level that he provides for our entire team,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “Those are tough kicks to make. He’s done this throughout the year to keep us in games when we haven’t scored in the red zone like we wanted to score. To send ‘Imi’ out, I don’t have to second-guess about sending him out because I’m confident in what he’s able to do.
“It’s just a huge honor for ‘Imi’ for him being able to eclipse 1,000 points in his career. He’s done an outstanding job and I’m happy he’s on our side being able to get us the points whenever we can.”
Fairbairn, a Hawaii native, stays in the moment when he’s kicking. His fundamentals and concentration are pinpoint.
“I feel a sense of calmness when I’m out there, when I’m walking out,” Fairbairn said. “I think that’s just from preparation. When it comes off my foot, it’s not up to me anymore. I did all I could.”
This year, Fairbairn has upgraded his performance on kickoffs.
“Quite an emphasis this year,” Fairbairn said. “Making it difficult for the returners to catch.”
The Texans have a key game Saturday against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. It’s a return to familiar territory for Fairbairn.
“It’s always cool to see the wold stomping grounds,” Fairbairn said. “Business trip.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com