HOUSTON — The Houston Texans defense carried the day as they knocked off the Los Angeles Chargers, 32-12, in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
The unit controlled the line of scrimmage holding the Chargers to 50 rushing yards, their second-lowest output of the season, and intercepted quarterback Justin Herbert four times, a career-high. Herbert entered the game with only three interceptions in the regular season.
Even when the Texans offense put the defense in a bad position, the unit bailed them out. To start the game, wideout John Metchie III lost a fumble and quarterback C.J. Stroud threw an interception in the second quarter. The Chargers were only able to generate a field goal off the turnovers.
The Texans defense also sacked Herbert four times and pressured him on more than 50% of his dropbacks, forcing him to go 3 for 14 for 112 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in those situations, per Next Gen Stats. The play that broke the game open was early in the third quarter when safety Eric Murray intercepted Herbert and returned it 38 yards for a score to put the Texans up 20-6.
The Texans offense started slow, but with 6:15 remaining in the first half, Stroud drove the offense 99 yards and capped it with a pass to wideout Nico Collins for a 13-yard touchdown reception to go up 7-6, and from there the tide turned.
Here’s what to know for both teams:
Pivotal play: On third-and-16 with 2:24 left in the second quarter, Stroud had an improbable play — where he fumbled the snap before rolling right and airing a dart to wideout Xavier Hutchinson for a 34-yard completion. The drive ended with a Stroud touchdown pass to wideout Nico Collins to put the Texans up 7-6. Before that play, the Texans had two first downs and two turnovers (a lost fumble and interception), but this is where momentum completely shifted for Houston.
Promising trend: Running back Joe Mixon rushed for 106 yards on 25 carries with a touchdown. In the playoffs, running the football and having a dominant defense can win you multiple playoff games. With Mixon being a threat on the ground, and the defense forcing turnovers, that’ll take pressure off of Stroud, who finished 22 of 33 passing for 282 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and allow the Texans to play complementary football, which could lead to a deep playoff run.
Most surprising performance: Murray’s pick-six was the first of his career, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for Houston. That play gave Houston a 14-point cushion. — DJ Bien-Aime
Next game: at Kansas City Chiefs / Buffalo Bills / Baltimore Ravens OR vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
For much of the first half of Saturday’s game against the Texans, it looked like coach Jim Harbaugh was the leader to overcome the Chargers history postseason humiliations. L.A. had been moving the ball with ease on the Texans defense and forced multiple turnovers.
Things quickly fell apart.
It was an all too familiar scene for the Chargers, who just two seasons ago suffered one of the most embarrassing playoff losses in NFL history, where they squandered a 27-0 first-half to the Jacksonville Jaguars. This time, the Chargers were again on the wrong end of an embarrassing playoff loss, where their defense forced three turnovers but the offense never showed up.
The only silver lining in a game where most of the team struggled was receiver Ladd McConkey, who finished with nine catches for 197 yards and a touchdown, a career-high in yards and tying a career-high in receptions for him. McConkey’s 197 yards were the most by a rookie in a playoff game in NFL history.
QB breakdown: Saturday’s game was perhaps the worst performance of Herbert’s career, featuring errant throws and uncharacteristically poor decision-making. It began in the first quarter when Herbert rolled right on a play action and underthrew a pass left to receiver Quentin Johnston that Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter intercepted. Later in the game, he threw a ball too high for McConkey that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. It was Herbert’s first pick-six since 2022.
Biggest hole in the game plan: Pass protection. The Texans defensive line feasted on a Chargers offensive line that features three first-round picks in guard Zion Johnson and tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater. Houston pressured Herbert 19 times and sacked him four times on Saturday. In the first half of Saturday’s loss, Herbert was 0-of-8 with an interception under pressure, his most attempts without a completion in a half in his career.
Eye-popping stat: Herbert’s touchdown pass to McConkey with 10:50 remaining in the fourth quarter had a completion probability of 22%, the least likely touchdown in an NFL postseason game since former Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s 33-yard TD to A.J. Brown in the 2021 divisional round. — Kris Rhim
