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Nick Shook’s takeaways:

1. Texans blast Chargers with fantastic second half. As it did for most of 2024, Houston looked lifeless offensively for most of the first half. The Texans finally broke through, though, when C.J. Stroud connected with Xavier Hutchinson and Nico Collins for two 30-plus-yard completions, sparking a 99-yard drive that ended with a bullet to Collins for a touchdown. After being largely outplayed in the first half (and turning it over twice in their first four possessions), Stroud and the Texans found the stride that had evaded them for most of the regular season, scoring twice before the break to take a 10-6 lead. Houston rode that momentum to an explosive final two quarters, keyed by a suffocating defense that became incredibly opportunistic in the second half, intercepting Justin Herbert three times and returning one for a touchdown. The look of pure joy of head coach DeMeco Ryans’ face in key moments said it all: Finally, the Texans became the team everyone expected them to be this season. They did so in the most important moment of their season to date.
2. Justin Herbert flops in playoffs — again. Herbert threw three interceptions in the 2024 regular season. He ended with four picks on Saturday. That statistic alone can explain the nightmarish outing Herbert endured, never finding much of a rhythm while leading an offense that asked him to throw 32 times and struggled to protect him for most of the night. His accuracy varied, with some on-target passes glancing off the hands of his intended receivers, with others narrowly missing. He entered a full meltdown in the second half, throwing three picks in Los Angeles’ final four possessions. Herbert’s lone highlight was a sharp pass to Ladd McConkey for an 86-yard catch-and-run score. The rest was forgettable, adding another rough game to his playoff record. It’s certainly fair to question offensive coordinator Greg Roman’s approach to this game, in which he called a total of just 16 runs in a game that was a one-score contest until the final minute of the third quarter. But for a quarterback of Herbert’s stature, this showing was simply inexcusable — and incredibly disappointing.
3. Joe Mixon becomes the closer. Houston actively avoided running the football in the first half of this game to a degree so significant, CBS color commentator Charles Davis couldn’t help but acknowledge it repeatedly. Instead of leaning on Mixon — who couldn’t get anything going in the first half — Houston tried to use the short passing game to replace the rushing attack. The results weren’t great, not until the Texans’ 10-point outburst just before half. But Mixon remained valuable in this game, rising to the occasion in the second half by gaining 91 yards on 19 physically punishing carries. He threw stiff arms, broke tackles and refused to go down until he knew it was imperative to keep the clock moving, giving himself up along the sideline after another late run for a first down. With Mixon grinding out yards on the ground, the Texans took nearly seven minutes off the clock in a 13-point game before he capped it with another bruising 17-yard run for a score that served as the dagger. Mixon’s production has been inconsistent in 2024, but when the Texans needed to win on the ground in order to preserve their lead, they had the perfect guy to get the job done.
4. Chargers’ promising season ends with a thud. Los Angeles produced one of the surprises in the NFL in 2024, transforming from a team lacking an identity in 2023 into a physical, determined bunch that mirrored the style of its coach, Jim Harbaugh. It didn’t take long for concerning signs to emerge on Saturday, though. The Chargers forced two early turnovers in Houston territory and could’ve taken a firm grasp on the game if they’d turned those extra possessions into touchdowns. Instead, they got just three points out of the two takeaways and neared halftime with a 6-0 lead. Those missed opportunities ended up haunting them once Houston finally found a rhythm, and with Herbert repeatedly giving away possession via interceptions, Los Angeles’ physical defense crumbled, allowing Mixon to rumble for multiple first downs on a drive that squeezed the life out the Chargers’ waning hopes of victory. Visually, it was the opposite of what most expected to see from Harbaugh’s team, which is all too familiar to the tortured fans of this franchise. Just when they thought they’d turned a corner and were entering the playoffs with plenty of momentum, it all evaporated in two quarters, ending their season in disappointment.
5. Houston’s defense shines on a big stage. If you’d polled most experts, few (if any) would have picked the Texans to win this game. Despite winning 10 games and the AFC South title, they’d failed to inspire confidence with their performance throughout most of 2024, and it was easy to see them ending their season by losing the physical battle against the upstart Chargers, regardless of home-field advantage. Instead, they reversed that narrative, proving to be the winner up front by pressuring Herbert at a 50 percent rate, shutting down Los Angeles’ running game and racking up four takeaways. Those who watched Houston closely shouldn’t have been too surprised by these successes; after all, the Texans’ defense had proven its as a stingy, opportunistic group in the final month of the season. The question always revolved around the Texans’ struggling offense. But on Saturday, both units came together, turning the defensive takeaways into points and smothering the Chargers’ offense, ending their comeback attempts emphatically. Just like last season, Houston welcomed a red-hot offense to town on Wild Card Weekend and shut them down by turning them over plenty and rolling to victory. We’ll see what that means for the Divisional Round.

Next Gen Stats insight from Chargers-Texans (via NFL Pro): Justin Herbert was pressured on 19 of 36 dropbacks (52.8%) in the Chargers’ wild-card loss to the Texans, completing only 3 of 15 passes when pressured for 103 yards (with 86 yards coming on the touchdown pass to Ladd McConkey) and two interceptions and four sacks.

NFL Research: Nico Collins set a new Texans playoff record with his 122 receiving yards in the wild-card win, passing DeAndre Hopkins’ record of 118 in the 2019 Divisional Round. C.J. Stroud had a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeting Collins in the game.