For the Houston Texans on Saturday, for a while, a quarter and a half to be exact, the outlook for victory was pretty bleak. The offense was stuck in mud, the Los Angeles Chargers had about a three to one advantage ratio in time of possession, and as usual, the Texans’ defense was doing its best to save the day.
Then, in the most unlikely of scenarios, a mistake by C.J. Stroud (taking his eye off a shotgun snap and allowing it to sail through his hands) turned into improvisational heroism by C.J. Stroud (see the play below), and the Texans’ offense suddenly was unclogged, the points and yards flowed, and in a game that looked eerily reminiscent to last season’s playoff win over Cleveland, the Houston Texans beat the Los Angeles Chargers 32-12:
In a season where the mood of the fan base had drifted to tepid and frustrated, despite the exact same 10-7 record as last season, it was glorious seeing NRG Stadium happy again. Chants of “HOUSTON… TEXANS” echoed down the ramps as fans poured out onto Kirby, and for one more week, we get to dream.
As always, there were winners and losers, so let’s dig in:
WINNERS
4. Derek Stingley, Jr.
Just one day after being named first team All Pro by the Associated Press, Stingley, all day long, showed exactly why. He was outstanding from beginning to end of the game, with multiple pass break ups early on, including a huge one on fourth down early in the second half, and then capped if off with two more interceptions, including a near pick six that set the Texans up for an eventual three score lead. It’s hard to imagine a defensive back on the planet playing at a higher level than Stingley right now.
3. D’Angelo Ross
Earlier this season, Ross, a special teams ace, was forced into duty at cornerback when Kamari Lassiter suffered an injury, and for multiple games, teams picked on Ross. It actually eventually led to him getting waived and brought back on the practice squad. On Saturday, it was fun to see Ross get some redemption, first with a deflected punt in the first half, and then with a return of a blocked extra point for a two point play on special teams, which was huge, giving the Texans a 25-12 lead, when it appeared the score was about to be 23-13.
2. Nico Collins
Nico Collins is a stud, plain and simple. It doesn’t matter if the Texans have their full complement of receivers (like Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell), it doesn’t matter if it’s Nico and a merry band of misfits, this guy just makes play after play after play. On Saturday, he had seven catches for 122 yards, including the touchdown late in the second quarter that gave the Texans a mystifying 7-6 lead. It felt like they had no business being ahead in this game at that point, but Collins made sure of it. And so did this guy….
1. C.J. Stroud
As I said above, it was fantastic to see the Stroud of last season show up throughout the second half of this game
LOSERS
4. John Metchie III
With Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs both out with seasons ending injuries, and Diontae Johnson still getting up to speed with the playbook, the team has needed Metchie to step into that void and give the team another threat on the outside. The fact of the matter is that Metchie has been very inconsistent, and on Saturday, that reared its ugly head at the worst possible time, with a fumble on the Texans’ very first offensive play from scrimmage. This started a funk which pretty much carried over for the entire first half, until the Stroud throw to Hutchinson, really.
3. Will Disly
Who, you ask? Well, Disly is the Chargers tight end, and in a perfect world for the Chargers, he might have posed a second receiving threat behind Ladd McConkey, the rookie wide out who went off for nearly 200 yards receiving. Instead, Disly had two massive drops in this game, one that would have given the Chargers a goal to go situation in the first quarter, and another that landed in the waiting arms of Derek Stingley for his second interception of the day.
2. Justin Herbert
We heard all the hype coming into this game, about how Herbert had become the best version of himself under first year head coach Jim Harbaugh. All season long, Herbert threw just three interceptions, which is incredible protection of the football. However, we’ve seen it all season long, where NRG Stadium turns otherwise capable quarterbacks into turnover-prone mush. Josh Allen, Jared Goff, Tua Tagovailoa, and now add Herbert’s name to the list. Herbert threw more picks on Saturday than he had all season long, with four, including an ugly pick six to Eric Murray.
1. Rex Ryan
There was a lot of disrespect for the Texans floating around on television and online all week, but none more disrespectful than ESPN’s Rex Ryan saying that the Texans represented a bye week for the Chargers:
In case you’re wondering if the Texans heard the noise, I’ll let Joe Mixon tell you:
And for the sixth time in franchise history, it’s on to the divisional round, where the Texans are 0-5 in franchise history. Dare to dream, though, because the dream is still alive.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
