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Key things to know about Texans’ wild-card opponent: Chargers

Here’s some quick hits to know about the Los Angeles Chargers entering the wild-card round showdown on Saturday.

The Houston Texans return to NRG Stadium to face off against the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round on Saturday afternoon at NRG Stadium.

To preview the matchup, here are some key things to know about Houston.

How Houston finished the regular season

The Chargers finished with an 11-6 record, winning three of their last four games, including two by 14-plus points. Against playoff teams, Los Angeles posted a 3-4 record, including a 0-2 record against No. 1 seed Kansas City.

Luck Ladd

Justin Herbert is the headliner out west, but he’s had a reliable weapon in Ladd McConkey. The second-round pick out of Georgia has been a consistent target in the slot, averaging 5.2 catches per game and 14.0 yards a reception. He also has three 100-yard outings, including a career-best 123-yard performance against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Win on third down

The Chargers enter Saturday not only boasting the NFL’s top-scoring defense, but also featuring a top-five defense on third-down efficiency. Headlined by All-Pro safety Derwin James, Los Angeles is allowing opponents to convert on 35.7% of drives.

Houston, which is coming off a 23-14 win over the Tennessee Titans, ranked 20th in conversion rating at 37.6% per outing.

Red zone dominance

Bobby Slowik’s play-calling must be elite inside the 20. Los Angeles’ defense not only leads the league in scoring but also opposing red-zone touchdown percentage. Teams are scoring at a 44.6% success rate.

Slowing down Nick Bosa and Khalil Mack might be the key for Houston if it plans on scoring. The Bolts duo under new defensive coordinator Jesse Minter finished with 11 total sacks. Bud Dupree, the No. 3 rotational specialist, also recorded six sacks in 15 games.

Other notes

  • The Chargers are 10th  in third-down conversion rate and 3rd in turnover margin.
  • Herbert leads the NFL in touchdown-to-interception ratio with 23 passing TDs against 3 INTs
  • The Chargers have the second-fewest giveaways (14)
  • Los Angeles has allowed 44 sacks this season, 23 of which have come up from up the middle.
  • While a balanced offense, the Chargers are averaging 213.5 passing yards per game. Eight different players have caught a touchdown pass from Herbert.

Transfer portal WR target predicted to land with Iowa football

On the heels of the Mark Gronowski news, Iowa football is projected to land a transfer portal WR.

The Iowa Hawkeyes may not be done adding via the NCAA transfer portal quite yet.

On the heels of landing Mark Gronowski, one of the top transfer portal quarterbacks, Iowa could see its offensive firepower grow. Gronowski comes from South Dakota State, with which he won two national championships. Soon after news broke of Gronowski’s commitment to Iowa, On3 predicted Iowa would be the landing spot for one of its transfer portal wide receiver targets.

On3’s Pete Nakos logged Iowa as the prediction for Chattanooga transfer wide receiver Sam Phillips.

Phillips, a graduate of Cartersville High School in Cartersville, Georgia, spent three seasons with the Chattanooga Mocs.

He reeled in 153 receptions for 2,088 yards and nine touchdowns in his three years with Chattanooga. In the 2024 season, Phillips finished with 49 receptions for 803 yards and three touchdowns.

His best game of the season came against Georgia State: eight receptions for 195 yards and a touchdown. In his lone contest against a Power Five program, Phillips registered five receptions for 54 yards against the Tennessee Volunteers.

Phillips, who is listed at 5 feet, 9 inches and 185 pounds, has a three-star transfer portal rating after only being offered by Chattanooga out of high school.

Phillips will carry one year of eligibility with him.

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Texans vs. Chargers injury report: Latest updates, news for Tuesday

Here’s the injury report for both the Texans and Chargers following Tuesday’s practice.

Here are the full injury reports from Tuesday’s practice for the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers ahead of their wild-card round showdown on Saturday at NRG Stadium.

Houston Texans (10-7)

DID NOT PRACTICE

Former Texas A&M WR Noah Thomas has announced his transfer destination

Noah Thomas is headed to Georgia for the 2025 season

Texas A&M wide receiver Noah Thomas entered the transfer portal last week. Among the over 20 players to depart from the program this offseason, the junior was by far the most surprising addition after three seasons in Aggieland.

Thomas’s high ceiling as a member of Texas A&M’s historic 2022 recruiting class was always a talking point every offseason, as injuries combined with inconsistent play led to his decision to leave the program and compete for a No. 1 receiver spot in 2025.

Following his trip to Georgia last weekend, Thomas’s 6-foot-6 stature and impressive catch radius impressed Bulldogs’ coach Kirby Smart. This was particularly notable after Thomas scored eight touchdowns lastcoaches are gene season, as SEC rally well-informed about all the playmakers in the conference each season.

On Tuesday afternoon, On3 reported that Thomas has committed to Georgia despite the Aggies adding a commitment from USC transfer WR Zachariah Branch.

Noah Thomas finished his Texas A&M career just 16 yards shy of the century mark, recording 73 receptions, 984 yards, and 15 touchdowns.

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Eagles waive QB Ian Book ahead of wild card matchup vs. Packers

The Philadelphia Eagles are waiving QB Ian Book ahead of wild card matchup vs. the Green Bay Packers

The Eagles have been quiet about quarterback Jalen Hurts’s availability, but the most significant indicator of his readiness could be the departure of a recent signee. With preparation for the NFC Wild Card game against the Packers looming, Philadelphia waived signal-caller Ian Book.

The Eagles waived Book at the 53-man roster deadline last summer, naming rookie Tanner McKee as the third quarterback.

Following the injuries to Jalen Hurts (concussion) and Kenny Pickett (ribs), the Eagles signed Book to the practice squad on December 26, and then to the active roster two days later. He did not appear on the active roster in the final two regular-season games.

Iowa football lands commitment from winningest FCS QB, Mark Gronowski

Boom! Iowa has landed its top transfer portal target as QB Mark Gronowski confirms he is joining the Hawkeyes.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have landed the NCAA transfer portal addition that the fan base has been waiting on.

Former South Dakota State quarterback Mark Gronowski announced on Tuesday his commitment to Iowa football.

This addition provides instant help, depth, and talent to a quarterback room that is being redone by offensive coordinator Tim Lester.

Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports and 247Sports was the first to report the news that the two-time FCS national champion would be joining the Hawkeyes.

The former Jackrabbit visited Iowa over the weekend and now joins the Hawkeyes after a decorated FCS career.

The 6-foot-3, 230 pound quarterback led them to back-to-back FCS national championships in 2022 and 2023 and finished his time at SDSU tied for the most career FCS wins with 49.

During his time with South Dakota State, Gronowski threw for 10,330 yards, 93 touchdowns, and just 20 interceptions. His best season came in 2023 when he threw for 3,058 yards and 29 touchdowns while completing 68.1% of his passes.

Gronowski has proven he can do it on the ground as well. He totaled 1,767 rushing yards and 37 rushing touchdowns in his career, averaging 4.6 yards per rush.

Gronowski is rated as a four-star transfer per Rivals and as the nation’s No. 30 player nationally. According to 247Sports, Gronowski is a three-star transfer addition, the No. 320 player overall and the No. 27 quarterback.

Gronowski joins a quarterback room that includes returning quarterbacks Brendan Sullivan and Jackson Stratton along with newcomers. The other new faces are Auburn transfer Hank Brown and freshman Jimmy Sullivan.

Gronowski hails from Naperville, Ill., where he attended Neuqua Valley High School. This is of note as it is in the same neighborhood as Tim Lester’s stomping grounds.

Lester attended Wheaton Warrenville South High School. That is just 11 miles from Gronowski’s high school. The underlying familiarity is there and may have played a role in Gronowski joining the Hawkeyes and Tim Lester.

Coming out of high school, Gronowski did not receive any FBS offers and elected to take his talents to South Dakota State, a choice that has proven to be fruitful.

Gronowski joins Bryce Hawthorne as another transfer to make the jump from South Dakota State to Iowa. Hawthorne was a defensive tackle for the Jackrabbits who recently committed to Iowa.

In addition to Brown and Hawthorne, Iowa also added former Central Michigan defensive tackle Jonah Pace via the transfer portal.

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Rams finally activate John Johnson III from IR, make 3 other roster moves

The Rams made a handful of roster moves on Tuesday, including the long-awaited activation of John Johnson III from IR

John Johnson III was placed on injured reserve way back on September 18 after he injured his shoulder in Week 2’s loss to the Arizona Cardinals. He was given a return timeline of 4-6 weeks but he sat and sat on IR, waiting to be activated to the 53-man roster.

Finally, the Rams made that move official on Tuesday nearly four months after Johnson landed on IR.

The team announced Johnson has been activated, taking the place of Blake Corum, who has been placed on injured reserve with a broken forearm. Johnson has been added to the active roster and is eligible to play in Monday’s playoff game against the Vikings.

In addition to activating Johnson and placing Corum on IR, the Rams also signed veteran running back Royce Freeman to the practice squad, taking the place of safety Quindell Johnson, who was cut from the practice squad.

The reason it took so long for the Rams to activate Johnson despite him being healthy for weeks is they were only allowed to bring back one more player from IR. Now that they’re in the playoffs, they were given two more IR-return spots, making it an easier decision to bring Johnson back.

Johnson has only played two games this season, recording one interception and eight tackles. The Rams are flush with talent at safety now, with Kamren Curl, Kamren Kinchens and Jaylen McCollough all playing big roles, along with Quentin Lake covering the slot, so Johnson may not see playing time right away.

Freeman’s return to Los Angeles gives the Rams some needed depth at running back with Corum out for the year.

Gators transfer portal safety commit flips to Georgia after one day

The Gators had UAB safety Adrian Maddox committed on Sunday but the Bulldogs swooped in and flipped him on Monday.

Just like that, a transfer portal coup was reversed on Monday evening for the Florida football program.

Former Alabama-Birmingham Blazers safety Adrian Maddox, a 6-foot-3-inch, 200-pound junior originally out of Conyers, Georgia, committed to the Gators on Sunday evening, only to change his mind. Instead, he decided to go back to his home state and join the Georgia Bulldogs according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Maddox officially entered the portal on Dec. 10 — a day after it opened — making trips to Gainesville and Athens among other campuses before the start of the recruiting dead period. There has been no indication as to what caused the flip, only that the decision was announced by his agent Ian Johnson on Monday night.

He has one year of collegiate eligibility remaining to spend with the Bulldogs.

Maddox spent the 2024 season in Birmingham after transferring there from the Alabama State Hornets. He recorded 44 tackles (30 solo, two for a loss) along with eight defended passes, two forced fumbles and a pick-six last fall; Pro Football Focus assigned him an 83.9% coverage grade stretching over nearly 400 snaps.

The defensive back originally committed to the Hornets during the 2022 recruiting cycle and played 21 games over two seasons in Montgomery. Maddox finished with 90 total tackles — 9.5 tackles for loss — along with three sacks, and two interceptions plus All-Conference mentions both seasons; he was named a Jerry Rice Award finalist in 2022.

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Texans pleased with WR Diontae Johnson’s debut before postseason

Diontae Johnson was limited but made enough of an impact for a larger role in the Texans’ next playoff game.

Diontae Johnson caught two passes for 12 yards on four targets with one first down against the Tennessee Titans in his Houston Texans‘ debut.

He caught a punt return and nearly broke free for a substantial.

While he didn’t find the end zone, Johnson made it on the field for 37 percent of the offensive snaps as the Texans picked up their 10th win on the year in a 24-13 victory.

On paper, it’s not all impressive, but DeMeco Ryans was pleased with the debut. That’s one of two people Johnson must impress for more playing time before Saturday’s wild-card round showdown with the Los Angeles Chargers.

“I thought he picked up on the things we were asking him to do. I thought he had some really nice catches, really nice plays throughout practice and he got in the game,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We were able to get him a little involved in the game as well. I thought he handled himself really well. We will start to continue to feed him more to see how he can help us.”

Claimed off waivers from the Baltimore Ravens after a rocky seven weeks, Johnson is looking for a fresh start in Houston. Known for his proven ability to get open and is a smooth route runner, skills the Texans are banking on utilizing those skills opposite Nico Collins on a run through the postseason.

Albeit here for two weeks, Johnson’s made the right impression on his teammates. Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon said the former Pittsburgh Steelers star would be “highly valuable” to the offense.

Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik called Johnson one of the league’s “better separators in the league” after a hot start in Carolina. That was on display during the third quarter of Sunday’s contest, though Davis Mills was a second late in connecting with the newest offensive weapon.

Johnson, who totaled 30 catches for 358 yards and three TDs with the Panthers in seven games, should have an expanded role against Los Angeles defense. The secondary, headlined by All-Pro safety Derwin James, is allowing just 210.6 passing yards per contest.

“It is just a matter of him integrating into our offense and making sure we put him in positions to where we can accentuate his talents because he is a talented player,” Ryans said. “He has made a ton of plays in this league, and it is exciting to see what he has been able to do on the practice field.”

Washington adds the transfer portal’s No. 1 cornerback

The Washington Huskies secured a commitment from one of the top players in the transfer portal.

The Washington Huskies made their most significant addition of the transfer portal window so far on Tuesday, securing a commitment from former Arizona Wildcats standout cornerback Tacario Davis.

The 6-foot-4, 190-pound cornerback played under coach Jedd Fisch for two seasons in Tucson, accruing 16 pass breakups and an All-Pac-12 honorable mention in 2023. He entered the transfer portal after Fisch’s coaching staff made the move to Seattle, but chose to stick out the 2024 season with the Wildcats under Brent Brennan.

In his one year in the Big 12, Davis established himself as a top-flight NFL draft prospect thanks to his length and ball skills and earned a spot on the All-Big 12 second team, totaling 44 tackles, 2 for loss, and 6 pass breakups last season. Now with the Huskies, he’ll have an opportunity to reunite with cornerbacks coach John Richardson, who is responsible for helping develop him into one of college football’s top defensive backs.

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Convincing the promising talent to forgo the NFL draft and utilize his final year of eligibility is a big win for Fisch’s coaching staff as it looks to acquire top-end talent ahead of its second year in the Big Ten in 2025.

Davis’ addition gives new defensive coordinator Ryan Walters a bonafide No. 1 cornerback who he can trust to go toe-to-toe with the top wide receiver on any roster.

With Walters’ tendency to utilize five-man defensive lines and leave his cornerbacks out on islands in single coverage, the No. 13 player in the transfer portal according to 247Sports should have plenty of opportunities to showcase his talents on Montlake.