Texans-Chargers on Saturday of Week 17: What We Learned from Houston's 20-16 win

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• READ: Broncos clinch AFC West, Texans secure playoff spot with HOU’s win
• READ: Texans' defense swarms Chargers after offense's fast start in win

1. Two early haymakers give Houston just enough to clinch. Houston’s Achilles' heel all season has been an inconsistent offense. After two beautiful, quick-strike possessions to begin Saturday's game, the Texans appeared to be on track to correcting those woes with the playoffs right around the corner. C.J. Stroud started hot, going 4 of 4 for 142 passing yards and a perfect 158.3 passer rating, with two perfectly placed deep touchdowns of 75 and 43 yards. After just those four throws, Stroud was only 45 yards shy of his passing yardage total from a week ago against the Raiders and 77 yards away from matching his 2025 per-game average. The Texans had the Chargers on the ropes in a hurry. Then, homeostasis set in, which for Houston means inefficiency and too many wasted drives. Stroud went 12 of 24 for 102 yards and two picks following his first two drives, leading the offense to only six more points. The Texans were able to pick up three first downs on their final possession -- one of which was aided by a somewhat lucky defensive penalty -- to ice the game and a playoff berth, but after being spotted 14 points early, Houston’s defense had to come up huge the rest of the way. How many times can that formula work in the playoffs?
2. Herbert can’t avenge 2024 wild-card loss. No play was more emblematic of Justin Herbert's gutsy performance than the 28-yard scramble he made with just under three minutes remaining left in the third quarter. On third-and-14 from Houston’s 44-yard line, Herbert dropped back, saw a lane and took it, eventually powering through Derek Stingley Jr. at the first-down marker before rumbling on for another 14. It was a hard-earned pickup and the catalyst to L.A.’s first touchdown five snaps later. Just like on that play, Herbert did all he could Saturday despite nothing coming easy. The Chargers couldn’t stand up to the Texans’ front seven, meaning Herbert’s 37 yards on six carries ended up leading the team on the ground. He was constantly under duress, and more than once released a throw while draped by defenders. He took five sacks but was hit many more times, including on three more sacks called back due to penalties. Herbert fumbled twice, both of which he recovered, and threw a red-zone pick off Oronde Gadsden II's fingers that had a bit too much zip. But along with the defense bouncing back from some enormous errors, Herbert was the only reason the Chargers had a chance, and he would have done enough to match Houston's 20 points had Cameron Dicker not missed an extra point and a 32-yard field goal -- his first career miss from under 40 yards. Playing behind a leaky offensive line, Herbert came close, but he wasn’t able to make amends for a four-interception loss to the Texans in last season’s Wild Card Round. Depending on how seeding shakes out, he could very well end up rematching against Houston in just a few weeks. Perhaps the third time will be the charm -- though that’ll require the Chargers digging deep to find some solutions moving forward.
3. Texans defense is responsible for another win. Given Houston’s season-long offensive concerns, there was perhaps some trepidation that the Texans had allowed 20 or more points and 300 or more yards in consecutive games for the first time all year heading into Week 17. Both of those streaks ended versus Los Angeles. Houston leads the league in points and yards allowed overall, and the unit displayed why once again while delivering an eighth straight victory. The pass rush was ferocious against a depleted offensive line, pressuring Justin Herbert on 38.1% of his dropbacks and getting home five times. Five different players logged a pass defensed. With the Texans offense stagnating in the second quarter, their defense faced three straight drives that reached at least Houston’s 14-yard line, two of which began well into Texans territory, and surrendered only three points. Simply put, this defense can win a ring. It could essentially amount to a race to 20 for Houston come playoff time. The Texans haven’t dropped a game yet in which they scored that much or more -- and coincidentally beat the Chargers, another opponent destined for the postseason, with exactly that amount.

Next Gen Stats Insight for Texans-Chargers (via NFL Pro): Danielle Hunter generated a team-high six pressures across 36 pass rushes (16.7% pressure rate) against the Chargers, including one sack and three quick pressures.

NFL Research: Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel became the second rookie duo in NFL history (and first since 1938) to each record TD receptions of 40-plus yards in the same game.