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DJ Bien-Aime
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DJ Bien-Aime
ESPN
- DJ Bien-Aime covers the Houston Texans for ESPN. He joined ESPN in July of 2022 after covering the New York Jets. He’s a former athlete who finished his college career at Louisville. You can catch DJ on ESPN Radio on his show, “Talkin’ Texans.”
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Kris Rhim
HOUSTON — The Houston Texans‘ defense carried the day as the Texans knocked off the Los Angeles Chargers, 32-12, in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
The unit controlled the line of scrimmage, holding the Chargers to 50 rushing yards, their second-lowest output of the season, and forced quarterback Justin Herbert to throw a career-high four interceptions. Herbert entered the game with only three interceptions in the regular season.
Even when the Texans’ offense put the defense in a bad position, the unit stepped up. Wideout John Metchie III lost a fumble on Houston’s first drive, and quarterback C.J. Stroud threw an interception in the second quarter. The Chargers generated only a field goal off the turnovers.
The Texans’ defense also sacked Herbert four times and pressured him on more than 50% of his dropbacks, forcing him to go 3-for-14 for 112 yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions in those situations, per Next Gen Stats. Early in the third quarter, safety Eric Murray intercepted Herbert’s pass and returned it 38 yards for a score to put the Texans up 20-6.
The Texans’ offense started slowly, but with 6:15 remaining in the first half, Stroud orchestrated a 99-yard drive and capped it with a pass to wideout Nico Collins for a 13-yard touchdown reception to give the Texans a 7-6 lead, turning the tide from there.
Here’s what to know for both teams:
Pivotal play: On third-and-16 with 2:24 left in the second quarter, Stroud fumbled the snap before rolling right and throwing a dart to wideout Xavier Hutchinson for a 34-yard completion. The drive ended with a Stroud touchdown pass to Collins to put the Texans up 7-6. Before that play, the Texans had two first downs and two turnovers (a lost fumble and interception), but this is where momentum completely shifted for Houston.
Promising trend: Running back Joe Mixon rushed for 106 yards on 25 carries with a touchdown. Mixon being a threat on the ground and the defense forcing turnovers will take pressure off Stroud, who finished 22-of-33 passing for 282 yards, 1 touchdown and 1 interception, and allow the Texans to play complementary football, which could lead to a deep playoff run.
Most surprising performance: Murray’s pick-six was the first of his career, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for Houston. That play gave Houston a 14-point cushion. — DJ Bien-Aime
Next game: at Kansas City Chiefs / Buffalo Bills / Baltimore Ravens OR vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
For much of the first half of Saturday’s game against the Texans, it looked like coach Jim Harbaugh would overcome the Chargers’ history of postseason humiliations. L.A. was moving the ball with ease on the Texans’ defense and forced multiple turnovers.
Things quickly fell apart.
It was an all-too-familiar scene for the Chargers, who just two seasons ago suffered one of the most embarrassing playoff losses in NFL history, when they squandered a 27-0 first-half to the Jacksonville Jaguars. This time, the Chargers were again on the wrong end of an embarrassing playoff loss, during which their defense forced three turnovers but the offense never showed up.
The silver lining for the Chargers was receiver Ladd McConkey, who finished with a career-high-tying nine catches for 197 yards and a touchdown. McConkey’s 197 yards — a career high — were the most by a rookie in a playoff game in NFL history.
QB breakdown: Saturday’s game was perhaps the worst performance of Herbert’s career, featuring errant throws and uncharacteristically poor decision-making. It began in the first quarter when Herbert rolled right on a play-action and underthrew a pass to receiver Quentin Johnston that Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter intercepted. Later in the game, Herbert threw a ball too high for McConkey that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown. It was Herbert’s first pick-six since 2022.
Biggest hole in the game plan: Pass protection. The Texans’ defensive line feasted on a Chargers offensive line that features three first-round picks in guard Zion Johnson and tackles Joe Alt and Rashawn Slater. Houston pressured Herbert 19 times and sacked him four times Saturday. In the first half of Saturday’s loss, Herbert was 0-of-8 with an interception under pressure, his most attempts without a completion in a half in his career.
Eye-popping stat: Herbert’s touchdown pass to McConkey with 10:50 remaining in the fourth quarter had a completion probability of 22%, the least likely touchdown in an NFL postseason game since former Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s 33-yard TD to A.J. Brown in the 2021 divisional round. — Kris Rhim
Source: www.espn.com