By Zak Keefer, Daniel Popper and Amos Morale III
The Houston Texans rode a dominant defensive showing to a 32-12 win over the visiting Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday to advance to the divisional round of the playoffs.
The Texans’ defense tallied four interceptions (two by cornerback Derek Stingley) and four sacks while holding the Chargers to 3-of-11 on third-down attempts. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw three interceptions in the entire regular season.
Houston’s defense also kept the Texans afloat in the first half while their offense searched for a rhythm, as the offense either punted or turned the ball over on their first five drives.
That rhythm finally arrived midway through the second quarter, thanks in part to a broken play. After fumbling a snap, Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud recovered the bouncing ball and heaved a 34-yard dart to receiver Xavier Hutchinson, fueling what would become a 99-yard touchdown drive to get Houston the board and ignite a stretch of 23 unanswered points.
“JUST LIKE THEY DREW IT UP!”
C.J. Stroud makes things happen after the bad snap 😱
📺: #LACvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/II2oMnkbM1— NFL (@NFL) January 11, 2025
Herbert ended that scoring run with an 86-yard touchdown pass to Ladd McConkey in the fourth, but Houston blocked and returned the extra point attempt for a two points, then intercepted Herbert for a fourth time on the Chargers’ next drive to snuff out any momentum.
In the divisional round, the Texans will either face the Kansas City Chiefs, the Buffalo Bills, the Baltimore Ravens or the Pittsburgh Steelers, depending on how the rest of the wild-card round finishes.
So much for the Chargers’ first-round bye
ESPN’s Rex Ryan might want to consider apologizing to the Texans after trashing them all week — even to the point of saying the fifth-seeded Chargers “got a bye because they’re playing Houston.”
L.A. is instead heading home, and fourth-seeded Houston is on to the divisional round for the second straight year. But this victory told a much different story than last year’s 45-14 wild-card rout of the Cleveland Browns, one sparked by an offensive eruption from Stroud and the Texans’ high-powered offense.
Saturday’s win was powered by DeMeco Ryans’ defense, particularly the secondary, which was lights out all game long, forcing Herbert into more interceptions (four) in one afternoon than he threw in 17 regular-season starts (three). All told, the Chargers’ offense finished with just 261 total yards, plenty of which came after the Texans had this wrapped up in the second half. — Zak Keefer, national writer
That Stings
Stingley, the Texans’ All-Pro corner, shined, finishing with two picks, a forced fumble and five passes defensed.
For Houston, it quiets the narrative that this was a team in sharp regression after a 6-2 start stumbled into a 10-7 finish and a less-than-convincing AFC South title. (Even at home, the Texans entered Saturday’s game as underdogs.)
Ryans’ defense outplayed the top-ranked Chargers’ unit, and Stroud, Nico Collins and the offense woke up after a sluggish start to rip off 10 points in the final 58 seconds before halftime to swing the momentum.
The defense’s three second-half picks of Herbert — including a pick six from safety Eric Murray — squashed any lingering chance at a Chargers’ comeback, and Joe Mixon (106 rushing yards) finished it off from there. — Keefer
Herbert faceplanted with the world watching
Given the stakes and given the circumstances, this might be the worst performance of Herbert’s NFL career. It was his second shot in the playoffs. He lost in embarrassing fashion for the second time. Herbert is still looking for his first postseason win. He did not show up in this game, with the world watching.
Questions will abound about whether he has what it takes to perform when it matters. And those questions will be deserved. Herbert threw two bad interceptions. The first one came in the second quarter, after his defense had gifted him excellent field position in Texans territory. The Chargers needed five yards to get into Cameron Dicker’s range. On the first play of the drive, Herbert made an ill-advised decision on a throw across the field. Kamari Lassiter picked off the jump ball.
Herbert returned the gift right back. Late in the third quarter, with the Chargers trailing by just seven points, Herbert threw high on a comeback route to McConkey. Murray picked it off and returned it for a touchdown that extended the lead. Herbert had never thrown more than two interceptions in a game. He threw four in the biggest spot of his career so far. The fourth came in garbage time.
The Chargers’ pass protection was horrific all game, and that affected Herbert. He has one receiver with any juice, and that is McConkey, who set a rookie playoff record with 197 yards. The other receivers combined for two catches and 14 yards.
But Herbert did not play well enough, and that will hang over the quarterback as he heads into the offseason. — Daniel Popper, Chargers beat writer
Many Chargers missed opportunities
The Chargers spoiled far too many opportunities in the first half, and those will sting in the aftermath of this playoff loss. On the Texans’ opening offensive play of the game, Stroud completed a shallow pass to John Metchie III to the left. Chargers safety Alohi Gilman jarred the ball free. Safety Derwin James Jr. recovered the fumble. The Chargers took over at the Houston 33-yard line. Herbert was sacked on first down. Will Dissly had one of his two drops on second down. (The other came on Herbert’s third pick.) The Chargers ultimately settled for a field goal.
In the second quarter, Stroud threw an abysmal interception in his own half. The Chargers took over a the Houston 40-yard line. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Herbert made that bad decision to throw across the field. On the opening drive of the second half, safety Tony Jefferson forced a fumble after a completion to Mixon. Jefferson also recovered the fumble. The Texans were driving deep into Chargers territory. But this was another potential turning point that did not materialize.
The Chargers turned the ball over on down five plays later after a failed fourth-down attempt. Herbert threw to receiver Quentin Johnston, who did not run his route past the sticks. The defense played well enough to win. The Chargers offense had plenty of opportunities, courtesy of three takeaways from the defense.
The Chargers offense failed. — Popper
Required reading
(Photo: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
