Tag: Chargers

Texans odds: Houston opens as home underdog against Chargers in wild-card round

The Houston Texans might be in the playoffs, but they’re underdogs on the road against the surging Los Angeles Chargers.

The Houston Texans can be the third team to clinch the spot in the divisional round of the playoffs on Saturday afternoon at NRG Stadium.

The only thing in their way? A four-quarter battle in Nashville with the surging Los Angeles Chargers wild-card round. The last time Jim Harbaugh was in Houston, he walked away with a national title at Michigan.

Houston (10-7) enters Saturday’s showdown at Nissan Stadium as a 3-point home underdog against Los Angeles (11-6), according to odds from BetMGM. The over/under is currently set at 43.5, while the money line is at -165.

The Texans are preparing for a date with one of the league’s top defenses. In Year 1 of the Harbaugh regime, Jesse Minter turned a one-thought promising unit back into a legitimate force headlined by Derwin James and Khalil Mack.

Offensively, Justin Herbert has been consistent in helping Los Angeles secure its first 10-win season in three years. He finished with just under 4,000 passing yards and 23 touchdown passes against just three interceptions.

The Chargers are fifth in the NFL in turnover differential.

Houston is coming off perhaps its most uplifting in of the regular season with a 23-14 road victory over the Tennessee Titans. Starters rested after the opening drive, leading to a dominant day on the ground by running back Dameon Pierce.

“When you start clicking at the right time, you just want to keep seeing this,” Texans running back Joe Mixon told reporters. “Keep trending upward. And pretty much we came out there and executed the game plan.”

Quentin Johnston has career-best performance: ‘He’s playing the right football at the right time’

Quentin Johnston played like a first-round player in the Chargers’ win over the Raiders.

Quentin Johnston flashed all season, but it was just a matter of time until he had a performance to match his first-round billing. That game came on Sunday in the Chargers’ win over the Raiders.

Johnston, the second-year wideout, was a dominant force. He put up eye-popping numbers, finishing with 13 catches for 186 yards. Johnston had never caught more than five passes in a game. And his previous best in yards was 118, which he set back in Week 9 against the Browns.

“You got to feed the hot hand. He’s a guy that went out and made a bunch of plays,” Justin Herbert said, per the team’s official website. “We’ve seen it all year, he’s playing the right football at the right time.

“He’s confident, he’s going out there and having fun,” Herbert added. “You can tell he’s feeling it, and whenever he’s doing that, you got to get him the ball no matter how it is. He did a great job of that today.”

Johnston made plays at all three levels of the field, winning with an assortment of routes, including on a go route that resulted in a spectacular fingertip catch for a 39-yard gain.

“Just felt like yelling and screaming, that type of crazy stuff,” Johnston said. “But I did my first-down thing and had to refresh and get back to the next play because we didn’t score. The focus was just getting in the end zone after that.”

Johnston finished the season with 55 catches for 711 yards and eight receiving touchdowns, which was a team-high.

Since his rough rookie season, Johnston has grown as a player and wide receivers coach Sanjay Lal deserves credit for contributing to his development.

The Chargers hope he can maintain that level of play in next weekend’s playoff game against the Texans.

NFL announces date and time of Texans’ wild-card game vs. Chargers

The Houston Texans kick off the Wild Card Round weekend against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The NFL playoffs kicks off at NRG Stadium.

The NFL announced the full wild-card schedule for next weekend and the Houston Texans will play in the first game of the wild-card round against the Los Angeles Chargers. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. on  Saturday, Jan. 11. The game will be broadcast by CBS and Paramount+.

The Texans and Chargers will be a part of a doubleheader on Saturday, followed by the AFC North battle between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens.

Three games will air on Sunday, while ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football’ will conclude the first round of the postseason.

Below is the full Wild Card Weekend schedule.

Houston and Los Angeles last met in 2022, where the Chargers secured a victory on the road behind a two-touchdown outing from Justin Herbert. The Chargers are riding high after winning three consecutive games to close out 2024.

Houston, which defeated the Tennessee Titans in the regular-season finale, finished the season 1-2 after clinching the AFC South, including suffering a 31-2 loss to the Ravens at home on Christmas Day.

Los Angeles enters Houston with the No. 1 scoring defense, holding opponents to 17.7 points per contest.

The Texans started the playoffs last season with a 45-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns. So for the second straight year, the NFL wants Houston to kick off the playoffs against a wild-card team.

NFL Playoffs: Date, time set for Chargers vs. Texans

Find out when the Chargers and Texans will face off next weekend.

The NFL announced the full schedule for Wild Card weekend.

The Chargers will travel to take on the Texans next Saturday, Jan 11, at 1:30 pm PT.

The game will be televised on CBS.

Los Angeles won its final three games of the season and finished with an 11-6 record and the fifth seed. Houston finished the season 10-7 and champions of the AFC South.

AFC playoff picture: There are now 2 possible opponents for Texans in wild card round

The Texans know they’re either hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers or the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round.

The Houston Texans are locked into the No. 4 seed in the AFC Playoffs regardless of Sunday’s outcome against the Tennessee Titans.

Their opponent? It rests in the hands of Justin Herbert.

The Texans’ options for next week’s wild-card round are down to the Los Angeles Chargers or Pittsburgh Steelers. Since Pittsburgh lost at home to the Cincinnati Bengals, the fate of the No. 5 seed belongs to the Bolts.

If Los Angeles (10-6) beats Las Vegas on Sunday, it will lock up the fifth seed and travel to NRG Stadium to play the Texans in the wild-card round. With a loss, Pittsburgh (10-7) heads south for a winner-take-all showdown in what perhaps will be the Amazon Prime game of the weekend.

Pittsburgh would earn the No. 5 seed because of its head-to-head win over Los Angeles back in September.

The team that nabs the No. 6 seed is in for trouble. The Baltimore Ravens, who bested the Texans in a 31-2 Christmas chaotic outing, clinched the AFC North and the No. 3 seed with a dominant victory over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday afternoon.

The rest of the AFC is mostly set entering Sunday’s finale. Kansas City locked up the No. 1 seed at 16-1, while Buffalo is guaranteed the No. 2 seed.
Denver (9-7), Cincinnati (9-8) and Miami (8-8) are alive for the final spot.

With a win over the Chiefs, the Broncos are in at 10-7.

With a win over the New York Jets and a Denver loss, the Dolphins are in.

The Bengals did their job and have a head-to-head win over Denver, but they still need help to secure a postseason bid.

They’ll be pulling for the Chiefs and Jets to upset the Broncos and Dolphins, respectively.

AFC playoff picture: There are now 2 possible opponents for Chargers in wild card round

Who will the Chargers face in the wild-card round of the playoffs?

The Chargers now control their playoff fate after the Steelers lost to the Bengals on Saturday.

If Los Angeles beats the Raiders on Sunday, they will lock up the fifth seed and travel to Houston to play the Texans in the wild-card round.

However, if the Bolts lose to Las Vegas, Pittsburgh will get the fifth seed, and L.A. will be locked into the sixth seed, sending them to Baltimore to take on the Ravens next weekend.

With a win required for the best-case scenario, head coach Jim Harbaugh will likely play his starters. If the Chargers have a big enough lead, he could elect to pull them and play the backups.

Once all the games finish at the end of the day tomorrow, we will know the date and time Los Angeles will play and the broadcast it will be televised on.

3 bold predictions for Chargers in Week 18 vs. Raiders

The Chargers still have a lot to play for in Week 18, as they can still get the fifth seed in the postseason.

It’s been a successful first season under Jim Harbaugh for the Chargers. They sit at 10-6 entering Week 18 with a playoff berth already locked up. It all comes down to seeding, as they can lock up the fifth seed with a win over the Raiders and face the Texans in the wild-card round.

That would give them a much easier matchup in the first round of the playoffs, so don’t expect Harbaugh to take this game lightly.

Here are some bold predictions for this weekend’s final regular season game against the Raiders.

Chargers finish as best scoring defense in the NFL

Heading into Week 18, the Chargers have the best defense in the NFL. They allow just 17.6 points per game, seven fewer points than the Chiefs and nine fewer than the Eagles. The Raiders offense ranks just 28th in the NFL with 18.1 points per contest. In other words, this one isn’t even really a “bold” prediction and seems more likely than anything. Still, imagine before the season if I told you Jesse Minter would lead the best defense in the league in 2024.

Defense holds Raiders to under 50 rushing yards

It’s not surprising when you look at the names in their running back room, but the Raiders have had the worst ground attack in the NFL in 2024. They average just 82.4 rushing yards per game, as Alexander Mattison’s 400 yards leads the team. In the matchup between these two back in Week 1, the Raiders finished with just 71 yards on the ground on 3.2 yards per attempt. In a game in which the Chargers should control from the jump, the Raiders will have trouble getting anything going in the run game in this one.

Derius Davis goes for career-high in receiving yards

Joshua Palmer, the Chargers’ second-leading wideout, has been ruled out for Week 18. Davis has recently seen an uptick in playing time on offense, and he’s earned all of it. In the last two games, he’s combined for four catches, 60 receiving yards, and two touchdowns. Now, his career high of 31 receiving yards was set back in Week 16, and it’s not crazy to think he can top that number in this contest. Davis has earned an increase in playing time, and Palmer’s injury only reinforces that further.

Will the Chargers rest their starters vs. Raiders in Week 18?

The Chargers have fallen victim to losing a key starter in a Week 18 game when they already secured a spot in the playoffs.

The Chargers are locked in with a playoff berth, with one game remaining in the regular season against the Raiders this Sunday.

With a playoff spot already secured, the question now becomes whether or not Los Angeles will play its starters with the hope of no one getting hurt.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh was asked about resting starters on the “Let’s Go Podcast” this past week, potentially hinting that he will play them.

“We’re going to be playing to win at all times,” Harbaugh responded. “That never changes. I like what Derwin James said, he’s our captain… He said, 11 wins sounds better than 10. So we’re, we’re attacking it.”

“We’re attacking it with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind. The thing that doesn’t resonate right now is, you know, play the backups. What are we going to do? Dress 25 guys for the game?” he added.

Harbaugh and the rest of the team will have their eyes on the TV on Saturday, watching to see how the game between the Steelers and Bengals goes.

If Pittsburgh loses to Cincinnati, L.A. must beat Las Vegas to secure the fifth seed. However, if the Steelers win, the Chargers will be locked into the sixth seed.

The Chargers have fallen victim to losing a key starter in a Week 18 game when they already had a spot in the playoffs. Two years ago, Mike Williams suffered a low back injury that forced him to miss the postseason.

However, the consequences of resting the starters could be not getting live-game reps and potentially causing them to feel rusty from the extra rest time.

“I think going into the playoffs, it’s important to not get rusty,” edge defender Joey Bosa said. “Obviously I feel like I’m still really working back for my injury and have a lot to continue to improve.”

We will have to wait to see how Harbaugh approaches this game and what he does with the starters.

Chargers final injury report vs. Raiders: 2 players out, Denzel Perryman doubtful

The Chargers will be without two offensive players this weekend.

The Chargers released their final injury report on Friday ahead of the regular season finale against the Raiders.

Los Angeles will be without running back Gus Edwards and wide receiver Joshua Palmer, who were ruled out.

Edwards is dealing with an ankle injury that kept him sidelined in the Week 17 game against the Patriots.

Palmer is still dealing with a foot injury that forced him out of last weekend’s game against New England late in the third quarter.

Derius Davis and D.J. Chark Jr. will be in line to receive more playing time with Palmer sidelined.

Linebacker Denzel Perryman is listed as doubtful with a groin injury. In his absence, Troy Dye will get the start alongside Daiyan Henley.

Alohi Gilman is questionable with a hamstring injury. Gilman was placed on injured reserve in late November and missed the last five games. He would need to be activated from IR to play on Sunday.

Where the Chargers rank statistically ahead of Week 18

The Chargers have found a spark offensively while continuing to boast one of the league’s top defenses.

The Chargers head into the regular season finale on Sunday with a 10-6 record and a spot in the playoffs locked up.

Los Angeles has found its spark on the offensive side of the ball in recent weeks while continuing to boast one of the league’s best defenses.

With Week 18 coming up, how do the Bolts compare to the rest of the NFL? Here is where Los Angeles ranks:

Offense

Category Stat Rank
Points per game 23.0 ppg 12th
Passing offense 205.8 ypg 21st
Rushing offense 109.1 ypg 18th
Total offense 314.9 ypg 23rd
3rd down conversions 39.61% 14th
Red zone scoring 56.82% 16th
Sacks allowed 43 19th
Turnovers 9 2nd

Defense

Category Stat Rank
Points allowed 17.6 ppg 1st
Passing defense 205.8 ypg 8th
Rushing defense 122.4 ypg 16th
Total defense 328.1 ypg 12th
3rd down conversions 36.28% 9th
Red zone defense 44.74% 1st
Sacks 46 6th
Takeaways 20 13th