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How the “Oh?”, “Oh!”, “OH!” play impacted the season 
Fullback Andrew Beck’s kickoff return for a touchdown made a massive impact on the Texans season. It also had a near-universal reaction from his coaches and teammates.
By Drew Dougherty Nov 24, 2023

For the first time ever, yes, EVER, the Texans and Jaguars are playing a game and they both have winning records.

The two already met once this season, and Houston picked up it's first victory of 2023 when it blew the doors off Jacksonville, in north Florida, in Week 3. C.J. Stroud and the offense showed flashes of what would come later in the season, with completions of 46 and 68 yards to Tank Dell. The defense came up with a pair of takeaways. Will Anderson, Jr. blocked a field goal attempt.

But the play of the game, and perhaps a turning point in the entire 2023 regular season, came from a fullback.

On a kickoff return.

After the Jaguars connected on a 33-yard field goal to narrow the Houston lead to just seven, momentum looked like it was squarely on the side of the home team. The Texans had raced out to a 17-0 halftime advantage, but the Jaguars scored a touchdown after the intermission, and then tacked on three more with the field goal.

Houston was winless at that point and had lost each of it's first two games by double digits. The Texans hadn't won more than four games in a season since 2019, and the Jaguars were the reigning division champs.

In theory, the Jags had found their footing and were about to make this game even closer.

But then, Andrew Beck happened.

Beck, a fullback with tight end experience in the past, is in his fifth NFL season. He played his college ball at Texas, and had found the end zone once before in his career. The former Denver Bronco had never returned a kickoff or punt.

Brandon McManus' kickoff was a shorter one. Return man Mike Boone didn't get a chance to catch it and run, because McManus instead booted it to the 10-yard line on the right side, where Beck was waiting.

What followed in the next 16 seconds is one of the most memorable plays in franchise history, and certainly one of zaniest plays of 2023.

Officially, the play was entered into the National Football League Game Summary as such:

B.McManus kicks 55 yards from JAX 35 to HST 10. A.Beck MUFFS catch, and recovers at HST 15. A.Beck for 85 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

But there's much more to the story than that. Here's a short oral history, from the field, to the sideline, to the man himself, of what occurred.

Beck: "Definitely not how we drew it up."

Special Teams Coordinator Frank Ross: "I didn't have my money on that one for him to return it for a touchdown."

Safety Jimmie Ward: "Oh, man, it was crazy."

Tight end Brevin Jordan: "My dog, Andrew Beck. It was unbelievable, man."

Linebacker Blake Cashman: "I was stoked. I've never seen a kickoff return like that."

Head Coach DeMeco Ryans: "I saw it late. I was looking down. I didn't see it."

Wide receiver Tank Dell: "I saw Beck backing up for the ball, so I'm like, 'What's going on?' I saw Boone running up to the ball and Beck was backing up. I'm like, 'Oh something crazy's about to happen.'"

Ward: "Both of them (Boone and Beck) kind of tried to catch the ball. Then it rolled down his chest and I was like, 'Oh.'"

Dell: "But then once Beck did grab the ball, at first I'm thinking like because it was supposed to be a return to the left. So I'm thinking like just about to go straight and get down. He had some Nelson plan, man.

“I saw him bobble the ball and I was like, ‘Damn!’” Defensive Tackle Kurt Hinish

Beck: "I picked up the ball and I looked up and kind of saw that we might be able to get an edge."

Hinish: "Then all of a sudden I saw him pick it up and I was like, 'Oh?'"

Ward: "Then he picked it up and he broke the tackle and I was like, 'Oh'."

Defensive End Will Anderson, Jr.: "At first I was like, 'Oh'."

Ryans: "I look up, and Beck is coming at me."

BECK:" I mean, kudos to the rest of the KOR (kickoff return) team too, because everybody kept doing their job and blocking."

Dell: "I'm like, 'Bro, where is this coming from?'"

BECK: "Cashman came up to me afterwards. He's like, 'Dude, I don't even know what was going on.'"

Cashman: "I was actually on the ground because my blocking assignment had cut all the way over from the back side to the front side of the return. So I hit him and a bunch of bodies went down and I was down by the numbers. And I just heard the crowd going nuts and bodies flowing like to the far side of the field, like towards our sideline. I'm like, 'What is going on? Did Mike Boone bounce it outside?'"

Beck, on what Cashman told him afterward: "He's like, 'I looked up and you were hauling it down the sideline.'"

Anderson: "I was like, 'Oh.'"

Hinish: I was like, 'Oh!', he's running down the sideline.' Like, "Ohhhhhh!". So I stand up and I'm yelling on the sideline. I'm like, 'Oh!!!'".

Ward: "Then he broke another tackle. I was like, 'Oh.' And then he broke another tackle. 'Oh, you broke another?'"

Offensive Coordinator Bobby Slowik: "I knew he might be able to break one or two tackles. I didn't know about three or four.

“Man, it went from a moment like ‘No, no, no,’ to ‘Yes, go, hold the ball, don't fumble.’” QB C.J. Stroud
“I get off the ground, I start running. I still don't know who has the ball. I just see a bunch of bodies running and all of a sudden here comes Beck high-stepping, breaking tackles down the sideline. And I'm like, ‘No way.’ I'm like, ‘How did he get the ball?’” LB Blake Cashman

Cashman: "So I start running down there because I'm like, 'He's going to score.' And I wanted to be there in the end zone to celebrate because that's such an awesome play."

Dell: "I actually ran all the way to the end zone. I'm surprised they didn't call a flag. If they did, I don't know, I don't remember, but I for sure ran all the way to the end zone."

Slowik: "I was losing it on the sideline with everybody else."

Ward: "I was like, 'Oh!', He scored."

Ryans: "Man, you look up, and it's a touchdown."

Hinish: "I forgot because I was so excited, but I forgot my helmet and had to run off for a field goal (point after try). I had to turn around and run back and grab my helmet and run back out on the field."

Dell: "I slapped him on his head a couple of times, but that was great to see."

Slowik: "I knew Beck had some juice. I think somebody said (he ran) like 20.7 [miles per hour]. I didn't know he had 20 in him."

Ward: "That was one of the craziest plays I ever seen in the NFL since I've been in in the league. And it's been ten years since I've been in the league. That was crazy."

Beck: "A huge thanks to those guys, because there were ten other guys on the field doing their job."

CASHMAN: "Whenever you have a big play like that in special teams, it completely changes the game and increases your odds to win significantly."

JORDAN: "That was a huge momentum swing for us."

Slowik: "That was one of the cooler moments I've been a part of in a regular season game for sure."

Anderson: "It was super exciting to see, man. He's a hard worker, tough dude, and he comes to work every day."

Ross: "Super excited and all I can say is put that one on his wall. He should have that for the rest of his life and I told him that on the sideline and I'm just so happy for him."

Beck: "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes."

The touchdown and successful point after by Ka'imi Fairbairn put the Texans back up by 14 with 4:19 remaining in the third quarter. They'd coast to a 34-17 victory, and then blast the Steelers at NRG Stadium the following week by 24.

But in the celebratory moments after the victory, as they got ready to head home to Houston, Beck had one last postscript on a memorable day.

"I think my wife's RSVP'd that we're going to this Beyonce concert when we get home," Beck said. "The last guess is that I'd be going to the Beyonce concert to celebrate this one, but I think that's going to be the move."

“I definitely love Beck, man. He's a warrior. I'll go to war with that dude any week. To line up with him is an honor and blessing and a privilege. So shout out to Beck.” QB C.J. Stroud
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