Inglewood, CA – The week leading up to the season opener couldn’t have been better for Houston Texans’ Dare Ogunbowale, the running back and backup kicker.
Yes, you read that right—Dare Ogunbowale was used as a kicker in an emergency situation in 2023 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Heading into his (look up season), he was named a team captain by his teammates, a well-deserved honor as Ogunbowale is the Swiss Army knife for the Texans, since he can be used at multiple positions. That “C” on his chest represented all of the hard work and dedication he had put in throughout his tenure with the team.
Yet, that joy and exhilaration for Ogunbowale was taken away on a crucial play on Sunday, which left him despondent on the sidelines and in the locker room after the game.
With the Texans trailing the Los Angeles Rams 14–9 late in the fourth quarter, linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair forced a fumble on Rams tight end Colby Parkinson inside the red zone, giving the Texans’ offense a chance for what could be a game-winning drive.
Starting on their own 18-yard line, Houston methodically marched down the field, picking apart the Rams’ defense, setting up what Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans calls an “Ugly Win.”
After the two-minute warning, quarterback C.J. Stroud completed a pass to an uncovered Ogunbowale out of the backfield for a gain of 16 yards, putting the Texans right outside of the red zone with 1:51 left to play.
Disaster struck on the very next play when Stroud found Ogunbowale for a completion. As he was diving to the ground, Rams linebacker Nate Landman timed a perfect punch at the ball, causing Ogunbowale to fumble, and Los Angeles recovered to stop the drive.
“It was a bad play,” said a dejected Ogunbowale at his locker after the game. “My job is to protect the ball. I didn’t protect the ball. So, it was an unfortunate play. Bad timing, especially, but I got to protect the ball right there.”
Accountability has always been a key character trait for the undrafted running back. It is what he prides himself on and the main reason he waited to speak to the media after the game—to take responsibility for his unfortunate mishap.
“I can’t labor on it too long,” Ogunbowale said about the fumble. “I would love to have that back. My job is to protect the ball, like I said, so I definitely got to move on from it and correct it.
“He [Nate Landman] made a great play, but no, anytime the ball comes out, it was my job to protect the ball. So, if the ball comes out, I didn’t do a good job protecting it. So, that’s unacceptable, especially in our running back room, the standard that we have.”
There was a lot of blame to go around for the way the team played on Sunday, and Ogunbowale’s teammates were not going to allow one of their team captains to shoulder the blame for the loss due to the fumble.
“Things like that happen,” said wide receiver and team captain Nico Collins, referring to the turnover. “Plays like that happen in the NFL, but the loss didn’t come down to that. We had an entire game to go out and score.
“It happened, and it is what it is. We have to continue to grow from it. We got next week. Tampa [Bay Buccaneers] at the crib [NRG Stadium], so we will see how we go out there and operate.”