Houston Texans Edge Out Los Angeles Chargers 20-16 To Clinch Third Straight Playoff Berth

In a game that featured two premier defenses in the NFL, the Houston Texans did just enough on offense to clinch both their eighth straight victory and a playoff berth against the Chargers in Los Angeles. The win also keeps the Texans alive in the race for the AFC South with just one more week to go.

Texans Offense Starts Hot and Ends Cold

It was another tale of two halves, or rather one quarter, for the Houston Texans’ offense, which jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead within the first six minutes of the game before just sputtering the rest of the way.

Those two first-quarter touchdowns came courtesy of two 40-plus-yard bombs from star QB C.J. Stroud, with the first touchdown going for 75 yards on the Texans’ first drive of the game. However, the offense quickly flamed out from there as the Texans only managed to convert 1 of their next 9 third downs.

The saving grace of the Texans on the offensive side of the ball was their ability to get a consistent run game to help them edge out the Chargers in time of possession. Rookie running back Woody Marks had another solid game for Houston, as he ran for 76 yards in the win.

Chargers Miscues Ultimately Doom Them in Loss

Despite falling into a 14-0 hole with their offense being shut down by the NFL’s top-ranked defense in the Texans, the Chargers were still able to put themselves in a position to win. Unfortunately for Los Angeles, the multiple miscues they committed throughout the game dug them too deep a hole to climb out of.

The miscues for Los Angeles surprisingly came from the least likely person to commit them, their Pro Bowl kicker, Cameron Dicker. The former Texas Longhorn missed just the third field goal of the season while also missing just the fourth extra point of his career.

On top of the missed kicks by the most accurate kicker in all of football this season, the Chargers’ penchant for committing penalties at the worst times came back to haunt them yet again. That costly penalty came in the form of a defensive holding that the Chargers defense committed, which resulted in a first down, which helped the Texans run out the clock and hand them the win.

Updated AFC Playoff Picture After the Game

Coming into the game, both the Chargers and Texans had a chance to either fall or rise in the AFC playoff picture heading into the final game of the season. For Houston, this win gives them one last shot at the AFC South title as they remain just one game back of the Jaguars.

The Texans swept the Jaguars in their intra-divisional matchups earlier this year, which means one more Jacksonville loss, combined with the Texans winning their final game against Indianapolis, will give Houston the AFC South crown.

As for the Chargers, this loss knocks them down to the final Wild-Card spot in the AFC and squanders their chance at an AFC West title as the Denver Broncos now officially clinch the division with the loss.