Tag: AFC Wild Card Round

Texans defense makes history in wild-card round win over Chargers

The Houston Texans continue to make history in the postseason after a dominant outing against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Houston Texans have a knack for making history during the early rounds of the playoffs.

Saturday at NRG Stadium was no different against Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. 

In a 32-12 win over the breakout Bolts’ roster, the Texans became the fifth team to record four interceptions, an interception return for a touchdown and four sacks in a playoff game win, according to ESPN Research.

The last three teams to accomplish that feat in the playoffs were the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens and the 1989 San Francisco 49ers.

What doe all those all those teams have in common? The trio hoisted up a Lombardi Trophy after moving on to the Super Bowl.

“Our defense, they dominated today,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “That’s who we want to be. They played our brand of football. They stopped the run first. That’s what I’m most proud of how we stop the run. And when we stop the run, you make a team one-dimensional, and that’s when our defensive line just causes havoc.”

Houston started the turnover-filled day with a Kamari Lassiter interception during the second quarter. With 21 seconds remaining in the third quarter, Herbert overshot rookie receiver Ladd McConkey, leading to a 36-yard return for a touchdown by Eric Murray.

During the fourth quarter, Herbert was intercepted on back-to-back drives by Derek Stingley Jr., including the nail in the coffin on Los Angeles’ final drive.

The defense allowed a field goal on the Chargers’ first two drives then stiffened up to buy the Texans’ offense time as it struggled for the first five possessions. After that, Houston scored on four straight drives to build a two-touchdown lead entering the final seven minutes.

“When we stop the run, you make a team one-dimensional, and that’s when our defensive line just causes havoc,” Texans Pro Bowl defensive end Will Anderson said.

Herbert became the first full-time starter in NFL history to have more interceptions in a playoff game than in the regular season. The Texans pressured the Pro Bowl passer on 39% of his dropbacks as he went 1-for-10 for 17 yards with an interception under duress.

“That’s the complementary football that we been looking for and we been needing as a team,” Ryans said. “Just outstanding performance on all three phases. Really proud of all our guys.” 

Houston travels to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN and ABC.

Updated 2025 NFL draft order after Wild Card Round

With the wild-card round officially in the books, here’s the latest draft order heading into the divisional round matchups.

The Houston Texans have another game to worry about before the offseason hits.

The same can’t be said for six teams following the past three days of playoff football.

With the wild-card round officially over, the first 24 picks of the 2025 NFL draft order have been finalized.

Eighteen picks were set entering wild-card weekend but with the Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Minnesota Vikings all falling short, the order has expanded entering the final eight showdowns.

The Texans worsened their draft stock but bettered their odds of winning a Super Bowl after besting the Chargers in the wild-card round matchup at home. Initially, Houston was projected to select No. 19 overall.

Now, the Texans will pick no earlier than No. 25. Should they win and lose in the conference championship, the earliest they’ll pick is No. 29.

Meanwhile, the Tennessee Titans are now on the clock following a nine-point loss to Houston while donning the Oilers uniforms.

Here’s an updated look at the 2025 NFL draft order following wild-card weekend action, courtesy of the folks at Tankathon:

DeMeco Ryans reveals turning point of Texans’ win over Chargers

Here’s what helped the Texans secure a 32-12 win over the Chargers on Saturday in the wild-card round.

While the Houston Texans secured a 32-12 win over the Los Angeles Chargers, DeMeco Ryans believes the game could have gone a different way.

In fact, there was a direct turning point in the second quarter that likely saved the season and allowed Houston to seize momentum just before halftime.

After struggling to move the ball on offense through the first quarter,  the Texans were pinned on their own 1-yard line and looking to merely avoid a punt out of the end zone. Catastrophe almost struck as C.J. Stroud mishandled a shotgun snap from Jarrett Patterson and watched the ball bounce near the sidelines.

But in Ryans’ mind, that was the play needed to ignite a comeback for the second half. Stroud managed to pick up the ball at the 4-yard line and scramble before connecting with Xavier Hutchinson for a stupendous 34-yard gain.

“That’s the play that sparked our entire team,” Ryans said on Saturday after the win.

He’s not wrong. Two plays later, Stroud found Nico Collins for a 39-yard gain. With just under a minute remaining, the two connected for a 13-yard touchdown, giving Houston a 7-6 lead.

That would expand to 10-6 with Stroud’s 27-yard run to set up a Ka’imi Fairbairn 30-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter.

Stroud said after the one play that almost didn’t start to electrify the crowd, the momentum boosted up the Texans’ sidelines.

“After we made the completion, I looked to the sidelines and everybody was turnt up, so that turnt me up,” Stroud said.

Houston scored 23 unanswered points after the Hutchinson pitch-and-catch before the Bolts found life. Even after Ladd McConkey scored an 87-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, Cameron Dicker’s PAT was blocked by Dencio Autry and recovered by D’Angelo Ross for a 2-point conversion.

“That’s the complementary football that we been looking for and we been needing as a team.,” Ryans said. “Just outstanding performance on all three phases.”

Houston’s defense forced four interceptions and four sacks of Justin Herbert. The Pro Bowl completed just 14 total passes and a mere three when pressured for 103 yards.

Eric Murray took his 38 yards for a back-breaking pick-six to conclude the third quarter. Meanwhile, All-Pro Derek Stingley Jr. nabbed two interceptions, in a one to essentially ice the blowout victory.

“I’m most proud of how we stopped the run, and then you make teams one-dimensional, and that’s what we did,” Ryans said.

Stroud, who became the sixth quarterback in NFL history to win two playoff games in his first two seasons, finished 22-of-33 passing for 282 yards with a touchdown pass and an interception.

The Texans travel to Arrowhead Stadium next week to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round.

Former NFL coach believes Chargers ‘basically have a bye’ vs. Texans

Rex Ryan isn’t giving the Houston Texans much of a chance heading into the AFC wild-card round.

Rex Ryan is looking to get back into coaching.

It’s safe to say the Houston Texans have permanently banned him from their list of potential candidates if the job were ever to be opened again after his recent comments about the team’s playoff chances.

The current ESPN analyst and former Jets and Bills coach recently appeared on “Get Up” with Mike Greenberg to discuss the Texans’ upcoming AFC wild-card matchup with the Los Angeles Chargers. Ryan didn’t hold back when asked if he thinks Houston, a 5.5-point underdog, can secure a victory on Saturday afternoon.

“I never realized they get a bye,” Ryan said. “Oh wait, they gotta play [the Texans]. What’s the difference?”

Ryan wasn’t done. He applauded the development of Chargers quarterback Justin Hebert while pinpointing to the regression from Texans gunslinger C.J. Stroud.

“The Texans’ offense is struggling so bad,” Ryans continued. “They can’t protect the quarterback, The Chargers’ No. 1 scoring defense in the NFL going up against that offense? Wooh! Get ready for the next round.”

Houston’s offense has struggled since Stefon Diggs’s season-ending injury in Week 8. While there have been flashes of potential, there have also been multiple setbacks.

Ryan isn’t wrong that the Texans have struggled to protect Stroud, allowing the third-most sacks in the league and the most by any playoff roster. The defense also looked underwhelming trying to stop the two-head monster in Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson on Christmas Day.

But the Bolts haven’t proven much in the playoffs over the past two decades. Their last postseason win came in 2018. And who can forget about the 2022 debacle against Jacksonville in the second half of the wild-card round?

Meanwhile, Houston is 5-2 all-time in the wild-card round weekend. The Texans are riding a three-game home playoff winning streak. The Texans are also coming off one of their better outings in a 23-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans, where the backups picked a trudging AFC roster now blessed — or cursed —with the No. 1 overall pick.

“For us, it doesn’t matter if anybody give us a shot. It doesn’t matter to me. At the end of the day, when the ball is kicked off it is about who is the best football team out on Saturday,” DeMeco Ryans said. “That is where our focus is on playing really good football.”

The Texans have a chance to prove Ryan wrong on Saturday at 3:30 pm. The game will be nationally televised on CBS and Parmount+.

Top Twitter reactions to Chargers’ loss to Jaguars

How the internet reacted to the Chargers’ loss to the Jaguars on Saturday.

The Chargers’ 2022 season ended on Saturday night after they lost full grasp of a 27-0 lead, only to be defeated by the Jaguars, 31-30.

What seemed to be a ticket punched to the AFC Divisional Round turned into a ticket back to Los Angeles, where the team now has questions looming surrounding the state of the team, from top to bottom.

Following the Bolts’ loss to Jacksonville, here is how social media reacted.

Staff predictions for Chargers vs. Jaguars in AFC Wild Card

The Chargers Wire staff has made their predictions on who will come out victorious on Saturday night.

The Los Angeles Chargers kick off their Wild Card playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday, Jan. 14 at 5:15 p.m. PT.

Who is going to come out victorious?

Here is a look at the predictions from each of our writers at Chargers Wire: