After rebounding from a horrendous start during which they looked half asleep, the Houston Texans came from behind to defeat the visiting Los Angeles Chargers 32-12, advancing to the divisional round of the playoffs in the process.
Houston fumbled the ball away on its first play from scrimmage, while already trailing 3-0 after giving up a field goal on L.A.’s opening drive. The Texans gained just 54 total yards on their first five possessions, which yielded three punts, an interception and the aforementioned fumble. It took them until about the five-minute mark of the second quarter to achieve their second first down of the game, but they luckily got rolling on that drive and romped 99 yards for a touchdown to take the lead late in the first half.
C.J. Stroud eventually finished with a strong game, completing 22 of 33 passes for 282 yards, one touchdown and one pick, while also rushing four times for 44 yards — including a 27-yard scamper that set up an end-of-half field goal to give Houston a four-point lead heading into the break. Nico Collins ripped off 122 yards and a score on his seven catches, while Cade Stover and John Metchie III each caught four passes and Joe Mixon got himself over 100 total yards and a touchdown after a slow start to the game, powering a game-ending drive that included 14 consecutive runs.
Meanwhile, Houston’s defense suffocated Justin Herbert and Co. for almost the entire game, breaking only once — for an 86-yard touchdown throw to Ladd McConkey late in the fourth quarter, with the Texans nursing a three-score lead.
Herbert was under siege throughout the afternoon, and he eventually took four sacks in addition to throwing four interceptions. He completed less than half his passes during the competitive portion of the game, as nobody other than McConkey could come close to getting open downfield. L.A.’s run game was also essentially nonexistent throughout, forcing the entire burden of the offense onto a passing attack that didn’t have enough juice, and an offensive line that was thoroughly whupped by Will Anderson Jr. and Houston’s defensive front.
Now, the Chargers are headed home and the Texans are headed to the next round of the playoffs.
Why the Texans won
Stalwart defense and special teams, and enough big plays on offense. The Texans held the Chargers to a mere 4.8 yards per play. They sacked Justin Herbert four times and picked him off four times as well — including once for a touchdown. J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards did nothing. With the exception of one big play to Ladd McConkey, L.A.’s pass game didn’t do much, either. Houston got a blocked extra point returned for two points, saw Ka’imi Fairbairn make all of his field goals and extra points and had Tommy Townsend have one of his best punting games. C.J. Stroud and Co. got off to a slow start but eventually got rolling a bit, with Nico Collins making some huge plays with the ball in his hands and Joe Mixon icing things down the stretch.
Why the Chargers lost
Massive missed opportunities and far too many mistakes. L.A. got stuffed on third-and-1 on its opening drive and settled for a field goal. Gifted a short field for its second drive, the Chargers took a sack and then had a huge drop and thus had to settle for a field goal again. After a fair catch interference penalty on the Texans, a drive went nowhere. They even had an extra point blocked and returned for two points. They failed on a fourth-down try. Herbert was intercepted not one, not two, not three but four times — once more than he was during the entire regular season. And honestly, that list of miscues barely covers the extent to which the Chargers made mistakes in this game.
Turning point
The first of Herbert’s four interceptions turned out to be the most costly, even if it didn’t directly lead to anything. Right after C.J. Stroud had thrown a disastrous pick, Herbert rolled out to his right and tried to hit a throwback to Quentin Johnston across the field. The throw was just not there for him at all, and Kamari Lassiter picked it off.
Houston wouldn’t actually score on its ensuing drive, but taking away L.A.’s opportunity to open up a two-score lead ended up being massive and helped the Texans take their own lead into halftime.
Highlight play
There’s no other option here. It has to be the busted snap scramble-drill 34-yard rope from Stroud to Xavier Hutchinson.
Houston’s offense was essentially D.O.A. before this play, which spurred a 13-play, 99-yard touchdown drive that ended with the Texans taking a lead they would never relinquish. And it almost never happened.
What’s next
The Texans are moving onto the divisional round. As the No. 4 seed, their opponent in the next round is up in the air. If the Bills and Ravens win, Houston will face the Chiefs. If only one of the Bills or Ravens wins, the Texans will face that team. And if both the Texans and Ravens lose, the Texans will face the Steelers.
The Chargers are eliminated. They will pick somewhere between 19th and 24th in the 2025 NFL Draft, depending on what else happens this weekend. They need help along the offensive line and in the pass-catcher corps, as well as the defensive front seven.
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