KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Texans cornerback Kris Boyd nearly shoved Houston special teams coach Frank Ross to the ground after the opening kickoff of their divisional playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.
The Texans had kicked off and Chiefs returner Nikko Remigio had broken through their coverage, hitting the open field and racing toward the end zone. Boyd caught him and stripped the ball loose, ran toward Houston's sideline and celebrated the fumble by ripping off his helmet and sending it skittering toward the bench.
Only problem: Kansas City recovered the fumble.
“I got the ball out," Boyd said after the game. "And as I’m getting up, I look at the screen, I see nothing but white (Houston's colors) and they’re all pointing that way,” Boyd said, thinking the Texans recovered. “So I was like, ‘Oh yeah, we got the ball, too. Turnover.’ And I was just turnt.”
But then one of the Texans told Boyd it wasn't good — because there was a penalty flag on the field and the Chiefs still had the ball.
Boyd proceeded to shove Ross on the sideline and ultimately was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for taking off his helmet.
“I was just too excited, did something that I shouldn’t have done. Learning from it,” Boyd said. “Keep my helmet on.”
Boyd said pushing a coach is “not in my character” and he wouldn't disrespect anyone.
“I love Frank,” he said. “I'm a God-fearing man. I respect everybody in that building.”
Boyd said he apologized to “everybody,” including Ross, for letting his emotions get the better of him.
“He told me, ‘Hey, listen, don’t worry about that,'” Boyd said. “We had a whole ballgame to play, but I was just trying to get my point across. Like I said, I'm not that type of person.”
Texans coach DeMeco Ryans didn't see Boyd shove Ross on the sideline.
“What I saw is we can’t come out on the first play and throw our helmet,” Ryans said. “That’s not what we teach. That’s not what we’re about at all."
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
The Associated Press
