CNN —
Powered by a stifling defense that intercepted Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert a career-high four times and an offense that came to life at the end of the first half, the Houston Texans’ wild-card victory sees them advance to the divisional round of the playoffs.
The Texans overcame a slow start and early mistakes to defeat the Chargers 32-12 on Saturday in a chaotic AFC wild-card playoff matchup at NRG Stadium.
“Man, what an awesome opportunity we had to play a playoff game here at home,” Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said after the game. “Just thankful for all our guys and the effort, the way they played today. That’s the complementary football that we have been looking for and we have been needing as a team.
“Just outstanding performance on all three phases. Really proud of all our guys. I can go through each position group, everybody stepped up and made a play when we needed to make plays. Our best players stepped up and made big plays for us to win this game.”
The Chargers opened the game with promise, scoring two first-quarter field goals for a 6-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Houston’s struggles on offense were evident early, with wide receiver John Metchie III fumbling on the Texans’ first offensive play after having the ball ripped out of his arms by Chargers’ Alohi Gilman at the Houston 33-yard line. The Chargers’ forced turnover led to their second field goal of the game.
Over their next four offensive possessions, the CJ Stroud-led offense managed to get just two first downs, punting three times and turning it over on an interception, while netting a measly 40 total yards.
Despite the Texans’ offensive struggles, the defense, anchored by edge rushers Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, held Los Angeles in check, keeping the Chargers scoreless, while coming up with an interception of their own.
Just as things seemed the bleakest, the Texans conjured up some magic.
Pinned at the 1-yard line at the start of the drive, Houston’s offense came to life after a broken play, in which Stroud scooped up a botched snap, and while Chargers pass rushers Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack closed in on him near the sideline, the Texans signal-caller connected with wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson for a 34-yard gain.
“That’s what it looks like when your best players step up and make the plays,” Ryans said of Stroud. “That’s what playoff football is about. That’s what being a big-time player in the league is about.
“Of course, you see the fumble snap and I’m just thinking, please pick the ball up. And then we were able to see CJ improvise and see Hutch keeping his eyes downfield. Having that confidence in himself and ability to avoid the rush and still keep his eyes downfield and find Hutch, that was an outstanding play.
“To me that was the play of the game that really created momentum for our entire team.”
A couple of plays later, Stroud hit wide receiver Nico Collins for a 37-yard strike, and the duo capped the 10-play, 99-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown for the 7-6 lead.
Stroud finished the game with 282 yards, a touchdown and an interception, while Collins hauled in seven catches, and 122 yards and a touchdown.
Following a Chargers three-and-out, Houston got the ball back with 27 seconds remaining in the first half. However, the Texans quickly gained 45 yards, including a Stroud 27-yard scramble to set up a Ka’imi Fairbairn 41-yard field goal for the 10-6 lead.
With the momentum on their side following a disastrous start to the game, the crowd at NRG Stadium was sent into uproar after the Texans opened the second half with another big gain when Stroud connected with Collins for a 41-yard gain.
However, those cheers quickly went silent on the next play, when running back Joe Mixon fumbled the ball and the Chargers recovered.
As they had done all game though, the Texans’ defense came up clutch, forcing a turnover on downs to give the offense the ball again.
Houston turned the defense’s effort into three points following a Fairbairn 37-yard field goal.
Trailing 13-6 late in the third quarter, things went from bad to worse for the Chargers, after Herbert was picked off for a second time, and Texans safety Eric Murray took it to the house for the pick-six to extend the Texans lead to 20-7.
Herbert, who had thrown just three interceptions in the regular season, was picked off for a third time on the ensuing possession when All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. came up with the pick that deflected off Chargers tight end Will Dissly Jr. and returned it for 54 yards to the Chargers 13-yard line.
The Texans’ offense turned that into three more points to go up 23-6 early in the fourth quarter.
Facing a third-and-26 after Herbert was sacked twice by Will Anderson and Mario Edwards, the Chargers got back into the game, after rookie wide receiver Ladd McConkey hauled in a pass and took it 86 yards into the end zone to cut the deficit to 23-12.
Despite the loss, Ladd McConkey’s 197 receiving yards were the MOST EVER by a rookie WR in a playoff game ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/Jh7VQl1PKE
— NFL (@NFL) January 12, 2025
However, the Chargers’ extra point attempt was blocked by Texans’ Denico Autry, and after kicker Cameron Dicker tried to jump up and bat the ball down, it bounced to D’Angelo Ross, who grabbed the loose ball and took it into the end zone for two points.
The Texans added another touchdown after Mixon rushed in for the 17-yard score to close out a 14-play, 74-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the game clock.
Houston’s defense closed out the dominant effort by intercepting Herbert for a fourth time to secure the victory.
“It’s tough, I let the team down,” Herbert said after the game. “You can’t turn over the ball like that and expect to win and put the team into a tough position with four turnovers like that.”
The loss marks the second consecutive year the Chargers have been eliminated in the wild-card round.
