Houston Texans Wide Receiver Nico Collins made history in the Wild Card Round against the Los Angeles Chargers. With 122 receiving yards in the victory, he set a Houston Texans postseason record. The previous franchise record was set by DeAndre Hopkins with 118 receiving yards against the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2019 AFC Divisional Playoffs. It will be a full circle moment for all parties involved as Hopkins now plays for the Chiefs and he will get to play his former team later this week.
Collins had a strong regular season but missed five games with a hamstring injury. He had 1,000 receiving yards for the second consecutive season and was Houston’s premier receiving option during the regular season. Will Collins carry this momentum into Saturday as the Houston Texans visit the Kansas City Chiefs?
Houston Texans Face a Stiff Test
It didn't take Nico Collins long to make Texans history 👏
📺: #HOUvsKC – Saturday 4:30pm ET on ESPN/ABC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/u4nFgr2kp3— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2025
The Los Angeles Chargers are a solid team, but the Kansas City Chiefs have their sights set on history. Kansas City is eyeing a third straight championship for the first time in the Super Bowl era. Houston, even though they won their playoff game, did not play well against the Chargers. The final score was deceiving as Quarterback C.J. Stroud had an extremely slow start.
Justin Herbert kept turning the ball over with four interceptions and Houston’s offense struggled to find its footing against a stout Los Angeles defense. Stroud finished the game a respectable 22-of-33 with 282 yards, 1 touchdown, and an inexplicable interception. Stroud and Houston’s offense must start quicker and play mistake-free football to pull off the massive upset.
Final Thoughts
The path to a Houston Texans victory is a slim one. It includes Collins putting together another historic performance and Houston’s defense having another great day. Kansas City’s defense, while not as formidable as the Chargers, is still one of the league’s best units. They will not allow Collins to wreak havoc on their defense like he did in the Wild Card Round.
While Collins can have another great game, the defense can’t hold down Patrick Mahomes like they did Herbert. Mahomes is inarguably one of the best quarterbacks in league history, and his statistics in the Divisional Round add to that playoff lore. The Texans face an uphill battle later this week against the Chiefs, and the football world will have a front-row seat.
