Kris Boyd drew headlines after shoving Houston Texans special teams coordinator Frank Ross on the opening play of the AFC Divisional Round matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans was more upset that the special teams’ star threw his helmet off before the play was over, resulting in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, setting up Kansas City inside the red zone.
“We can’t lose our minds in that sense of taking our helmet off, we still have to remain poised,” Ryans said on Monday. “You cannot take your helmet off in a game. Everyone knows and understands the rules. So instead of helping us, it ended up hurting us.”
Hate to start the game like that if you’re Houston pic.twitter.com/kESYuI3ncX
— CJ Fogler
(@cjzero) January 18, 2025
Boyd said after the game that he was “turnt” after causing a fumble and thought Houston had recovered the ball. When he came to the sidelines, the shove was out of enthusiasm and the situation was a big misunderstanding.
“That’s not in my character,” Boyd said. “I love everybody here. I love my coaches. I would never disrespect anybody. I love Frank. I’m a God-fearing man. I respect everybody in that building.”
When asked about the situation, Ryans echoed a similar thought.
#Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said he doesn’t believe Kris Boyd was ‘disrespecting’ Frank Ross with a push said that narrative isn’t right he was just fired up, reiterated that Boyd hurt team with throwing helmet @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/oLoAUIQtmc
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 20, 2025
“I don’t think he was pushing Frank in a disrespectful manner. I think it was more, so he was fired-up, overly fired-up and thought he made a play to help us,” Ryans said. “So, that narrative that he’s pushing a coach, that is incorrect.”
Boyd apologized to Ross and re-entered the game after Houston tied it 3-3 following a 30-yard field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn. The 15 yards wouldn’t lead to a touchdown, but it did factor into a 23-14 loss at Arrowhead Stadium.
Texans special teamer Kris Boyd started the game with a “silly” penalty after ripping his helmet off. He then appeared to shove Special Teams Coach Frank Ross.
“Lit emotions. Thought it was a great play. It was a dumb play.”
Below is my conversation with Boyd after the game.… pic.twitter.com/npj3PkYNGV
— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelFOX) January 19, 2025
Still, Ryans was far from pleased with Houston starting Saturday off on the wrong foot, whether or not Ross and Boyd made amends afterward.
“That’s not what we teach, that’s not what we’re about at all,” Ryans said Saturday. “For us to be here in this moment and to throw our helmet? We know the rules and we know we can’t do that. It just puts us in a negative light to start the game. We give them a big return, we take our helmet off to add 15 more yards to the play, it’s just not smart football.”
The Texans will select 25th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft.