Houston is not the ‘Big Easy’ as Texans intercept Chargers’ playoff dreams
HOUSTON — Remember all that talk about how fortunate it was that the Chargers secured the AFC’s fifth seed so they could start their postseason march here?
Well, the Houston Texans remember it too.
“Oh, that? Don’t know what you’re talking about,” Texans tight end Dalton Schultz said, feigning ignorance before easing into a wide smile. “I plead the fifth.”
A recap: By winning their finale, the Chargers cemented a game in Houston, which had lost two of three, instead of opening the playoffs in the bitter cold of Baltimore or Buffalo.
“We heard that,” Houston defensive end Denico Autry said. “It fueled us.”
The underdog Texans clapped back in a resounding way, rolling to a 32-12 victory Saturday and handing the Chargers their sixth one-and-done playoff performance since reaching the Super Bowl 30 years ago.
The Chargers’ Justin Herbert had four of his passes intercepted, including a pick-six by Eric Murray, as they were eliminated by the Houston Texans 32-12.
In all six of those quick exits, the Chargers were favored.
Now, they have an entire offseason to contemplate what might have been. Had they won, they could have faced the AFC West-rival Kansas City Chiefs for a third time this season, and both of their previous meetings were ultra-close. That’s all wistful daydreaming now.
Justin Herbert had just three interceptions during the regular season. He was picked off four times by the Texans.
That’s nothing new for Houston. It’s almost as if the defense sees it as a personal challenge to bring quarterbacks back to earth, to push a pin in their balloon.
For instance, Miami’s Tua Tagovailoa had seven interceptions this season, but three were by the Texans.
Detroit’s Jared Goff was intercepted 12 times, five by Houston.
“As a unit, we just go out there and play,” said cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who picked off two of Herbert’s passes. “Simple as that. Just get the ball, that’s the name of the game.”
It helped that the Texans’ defensive front turned up the heat on Herbert, sacking him four times and hitting him five more. He had precious little time to find his receivers.
“He’s got to be able to finish a throwing motion; quarterback’s got to be able to do that,” Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh said. “We didn’t put him in position to do that enough.”
The game began with a lot of promise for the Chargers, who pushed deep into Texans territory on their first two possessions but came away with two field goals instead of touchdowns. The door of opportunity swung wide open for the visitors, but it was only a matter of time before the home team slammed it shut and closed the latch.
Before they woke up, the Texans ended their first five possessions: fumble, punt, punt, interception, punt.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has a good chance to earn his first NFL playoff win. The Rams must repeat an upset of Vikings to move to next round.
Then, late in the second quarter, a giant momentum swing encapsulated in one play.
The Texans, who had started on their one, scrapped their way to their 17 and faced a third and 16. A bad shotgun snap had C.J. Stroud chasing the bouncing ball and trying to avoid disaster.
Like circling sharks, Chargers defenders converged on him, with even the secondary moving forward. The second-year Texans quarterback latched on to the ball, rolled to his right and coolly found receiver Xavier Hutchinson alone in the middle of the field for a 34-yard gain.
That improbable play kept the drive alive and was a spirit-snapper for the Chargers. Stroud found receiver Nico Collins for a 37-yard gain and finished with a 13-yard touchdown to Collins on a slant to give Houston a 7-6 lead.
The game was particularly sweet for Collins, who finished with seven catches for 122 yards, because he played for Harbaugh at Michigan. He gave his old coach a hug after the game.
Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold and Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield have revived NFL careers that were once in jeopardy.
Last week Collins had talked about a funny memory with the Wolverines, how Harbaugh finished a spring practice by doing a cannonball off the high dive at the school’s pool. The coach didn’t bother to remove his cleats for the stunt. Just jumped into the water — hat, glasses, khakis and all.
There were no cannonballs Saturday, only a franchise that once again was deep-sixed.
It was a year ago that Harbaugh’s Michigan team won the national championship against Washington on this NRG Stadium field, and his players used the same locker room that housed the Chargers in this wild-card game. So much for good luck.
The Dallas Cowboys play host to a Thanksgiving game every year. The Texans seem to open the postseason every year with a Saturday afternoon game. This was the eighth time they played a wild-card game in this time slot.
The one-and-done Chargers, meanwhile, have established a tradition of their own. Their players are scheduled Sunday to clean out their lockers.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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