Saturday’s 32-12 rout of the Los Angeles Chargers in an AFC wild-card game temporarily halted the notion of the Houston Texans as playoff tackling dummies in waiting.
The resolution really should be permanent.
Yeah, the guys from H-Town seem to be relegated to the early Saturday TV window whenever they make the postseason, but surely enough naysayers saw Texans defenders flying around at all three levels.
And how could you miss quarterback C.J. Stroud’s scrambling effort to collect a fumbled snap and connect downfield for a crucial 3rd-down conversion, extending an eventual 99-yard touchdown drive just before halftime?
“We didn’t start off great,” Stroud said, “but it’s not about how you start; it’s how you finish.”
While the Texans won’t know their divisional-round destination until midafternoon Sunday, their next foe should be significantly more concerned after a relentless defense and determined attack piloted Houston to victory.
Houston sacked Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert four times and intercepted him four more, surpassing Herbert’s regular-season total of three picks.
Eric Murray took his INT 38 yards to the end zone, while Derek Stingley Jr. brought his pair of picks to another house—his own.
If there’s a collective trophy case for the Texans ‘D’ at NRG Stadium or elsewhere, the effort to befuddle Herbert and LA gets a coveted spot alongside several others.
It may be easy to forget given Houston’s uneven finish to a 10-7 regular season and all the backlash about Rex Ryan’s “bye week” jab, but these are the same Texans who intercepted Detroit’s Jared Goff five times.
And, yes, the same Texans who lost that Week 10 game versus the Lions, but yet the same Texans who limited Buffalo’s Josh Allen to 9-for-30 passing and 131 yards to win in Week 5.
On Saturday, with the front seven intact at last, Houston kept coming after the Chargers. The upcoming opponent should be prepared for more of the same.
“We’re just going to run hard to the ball, you know,” Stingley Jr. said. “Plays happen when you run hard, run fast, so that’s what we’re going to do every snap.”
If Denver wins at Buffalo today, the Texans will visit Baltimore in the divisional playoffs. Should Buffalo prevail, the Texans will travel to the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs.
KC and Baltimore defeated Houston in Weeks 16 and 17, respectively, in decidedly different games. Houston had a second-quarter lead at Kansas City but couldn’t recover after missing a would-be game-tying PAT early in the third before losing 27-19.
Baltimore’s Christmas Day visit to Houston, meanwhile, accurately reflected the lopsided final score: Ravens 31, Texans 2.
“We don’t look at the past; we learn from it,” Stroud said. “Every ‘L’ is a lesson, you know. It’s only a loss if you look at it that way, so the Baltimore loss made us better.”
Saturday marked Houston’s first home game since the rout, so Stroud backed his claim, passing for 282 yards with a touchdown and interception while rushing for 42 yards.
Joe Mixon rushed for 106 yards and a TD and Nico Collins had seven receptions for 122 yards and a score.
Houston is 0-5 in the divisional playoffs, including a 34-10 loss in Baltimore last season. But with their explosiveness in all three phases Saturday, the Texans would like to think this is the team that finally shows Houston’s postseasons past are prologue.
“Just trusting ourselves. It’s not about what everybody else says. It’s not about the outside noise, you know,” Stroud said. “It’s about who we think we are and the work we put in.”
