USATSI

The Texans cut the Browns' Week 16 lead in half when Dameon Pierce returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown Sunday. They also gave themselves twice as many kick-return scores as the entire rest of the NFL in 2023.

It turns out that only two other kick-return TDs had occurred before Week 16, and one of those belonged to the Texans, as fullback Andrew Beck had an 85-yard TD return against the Jaguars in Week 3. Which means Houston is now outscoring all 31 other teams in the kick-return department, with the only other score coming courtesy of Broncos receiver Marvin Mims Jr., also in Week 3.

Pierce's 98-yard runback on Sunday got the Texans on the board shortly after the Joe Flacco-led Browns went up 14-0:

How is it possible there have only been three kick-return scores as a whole? The primary reason is there have been fewer kick returns in general. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell admitted this year the league has been trying to reduce the frequency of the play due to player-safety concerns, notably permitting fair catches by kick returners starting this season.