The No. 4 seed Houston Texans are back in the AFC divisional round for a second consecutive season following a 32-12 home win over the No. 5 seed Los Angeles Chargers.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 22 of 33 passes for 282 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Stroud found receiver Nico Collins on a series of plays during a drive late in the second quarter that helped give Houston a lead it would never give up throughout the game.
The Chargers were unable to capitalize on its early six-point lead in the first quarter, giving up 23 unanswered points and the lead to Houston. The Texans would go on to score double-digit points in each of the last three quarters.
Quarterback Justin Herbert threw four interceptions, including two that the Texans managed to convert into 10 points. Herbert’s four interceptions are more than he had throughout the entire regular season.
It’s was the first time the two teams had met in the playoffs.
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Running back Joe Mixon rushed 17 yards down the left side of the field to score for the Texans. Ka’imi Fairbairn’s extra-point attempt was good.
After Justin Herbert was sacked on consecutive plays for a total loss of 18 yards, the quarterback found Ladd McConkey down the middle of the field for an 86-yard touchdown on third-and-26 with 10:38 left in the fourth quarter.
Cameron Dicker’s extra point attempt was blocked and recovered by the Texans, who returned it for a defensive two-point conversion. The Texans lead the Chargers 25-12.
The Texans settle for a 30-yard field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn to increase the lead.
Defensive back Derek Stingley Jr. intercepts quarterback Justin Herbert for a third interception and returns it 54 yards. The Texans will start with the ball on the Chargers 13-yard line. The Houston Texans have all the momentum.
Quarterback Justin Herbert had his pass intended for Ladd McConkey intercepted by Texans defensive back Eric Murray and returned for a 38-yard touchdown. Ka’imi Fairbairn’s extra-point attempt was good.
Kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn made a 37-yard field goal to improve the Texans’ lead over the Chargers 13-6 with 4:48 left in the third quarter. Houston has scored 13 unanswered points.
The Texans maintained possession after safety Derwin James’ interception of C.J. Stroud’s pass attempt in the endzone was overturned by officials following a review.
The Chargers decided to go for it on fourth-and-2 but quarterback Justin Herbert’s pass receiver Quentin Johnston was ruled incomplete. The Texans will take over with the ball on the Houston 35-yard line.
Safety Tony Jefferson forced running back Joe Mixon to fumble the ball on the Texans’ opening drive of the second half. Jefferson also managed to recover the ball.
The Texans finished the first half scoring 10 unanswered points. Quarterback C.J. Stroud completed 14 of his 23 pass attempts for 180 yards, a touchdown and an interception.
The Chargers managed to limit the running back Joe Mixon to just 15 rushing yards on six carries.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert completed eight of his 20 passes for 97 yards and an interception. Running back J.K. Dobbins had just eight carries for 26 yards.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud goes back to receiver Nico Collins for the 13-yard touchdown with 58 seconds left in the first half. Ka’imi Fairbairn’s extra-point attempt was good. It was a 13-play drive for 99 yards. The Texans lead the Chargers 7-6.
Texans receiver Nico Collins was on the other end of a pass from quarterback C.J. Stroud for 34 yards to extend the drive and put Houston in the red zone with a chance to score with 1:05 left in the second quarter.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud mishandles the snap on third-and-16 from the Houston 17-yard line before managing to run back and collect the football. Stroud showed a strong level of poise as he continued to look downfield before finding receiver Xavier Hutchinson for the 34-yard completion. The Chargers lead the Texans 6-0 at the two-minute warning.
The Houston Texans were unable to take advantage of the turnover as the Chargers’ defense held strong.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud completed a 13-yard pass on the first play of the drive to receiver Nico Collins but the Texans were unable to put anything else together on the four-play drive for 15 yards. Chargers defensive end Khalil Mack sacked Stroud for an eight-yard loss on second-and-10.
Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter came up with an interception on Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert’s pass attempt to receiver Quentin Johnston.
Linebacker Denzel Perryman was listed as questionable to return with an elbow injury, according to the Chargers’ official X account. Perryman left the game with a left elbow injury after making a tackle during the first quarter.
Quarterback Justin completed five of nine pass attempts for 51 yards in the first quarter. Cameron Dicker was responsible for all six of the Chargers’ points in the opening quarter. C.J. Stroud completed four of his first six passes for 43 yards. Joe Mixon and the Texans’ rushing attack was limited to three yards on two carries.
Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa sacks Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud for a 5-yard loss on second-and-10.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud ran out of the pocket to avoid the pressure from Chargers standout Joey Bosa on 3rd & 7 but nearly threw an interception in the process. Texans punted the ball and were also called for a 15-yard penalty after Kris Boyd was called for fair catch interference.
The Chargers lead the Texans 6-0 with 4:58 left in the opening period.
The Chargers convert the turnover into points with a 39-yard field goal from kicker Cameron Dicker.
The Chargers take another 2:53 off the clock with a six-play drive for 12 yards.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud completed a pass to receiver John Metchie on Houston’s first offensive play before Chargers safety Alohi Gilman forced Metchie to fumble the ball. Chargers defensive back Derwin James recovered the ball. Chargers have taken over with the ball.
The Chargers managed to reach the red zone but settled for a successful 35-yard field goal from Cameron Dicker to take the 3-0 lead with 9:37 left in the first quarter.
The Chargers took 5:23 off the clock on the opening drive with 10 plays for 57 yards.
The Houston Texans won the coin toss and decided to defer for the second half. Quarterback Justin Herbert and the Chargers will begin on offense.
The Houston Texans will take on the Los Angeles Chargers as the NFL playoffs open with an AFC wild-card game at Houston’s NRG Stadium. The game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. ET.
CBS will broadcast the NFL wild-card game between the Houston Texans and the Los Angeles Chargers with Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Charles Davis (analyst) and Evan Washburn (sideline reporter) calling the action.
The NFL wild-card playoff game between the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers can be streamed on Paramount+ or you can turn to Fubo, which offers a free trial subscription. Fubo carries CBS, as well as NBC, FOX, ABC, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action through much of the playoffs.
Jeremy Cluff writes, “The Chargers have won three in a row and gave up an NFL-best 301 points this season. They will be able to outscore the Texans on the road, who interestingly scored 372 points this season, while also giving up 372 points.”
Pete Prisco writes: “The Chargers come into this game with an offense led by Justin Herbert, who has yet to win a playoff game. This is a big game for him. The Texans haven’t played as well as expected, especially C.J. Stroud. This makes this a big game for him, too. But the Chargers have the top-ranked scoring defense in the league, which will make this a challenge. I think their pass rush will be an issue against Stroud’s offensive line. Herbert will play well and find a way to win his first playoff game.”
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The Los Angeles Chargers are favorites to defeat the Houston Texans, according to BetMGM.
Odds as of Saturday, Jan. 11
The Steelers are tied with the New England Patriots for the most Super Bowl wins with six.
Pittsburgh and Dallas have the unique distinction of playing each other more than any other team combination in Super Bowl history with three matchups.
Here’s how the first round of the 2025 NFL draft stacks up entering wild-card weekend action, according to Tankathon.com:
The wild-card round is set. All times Eastern.
All times Eastern
Saturday, Jan. 11
Sunday, Jan. 12
Monday, Jan. 13
All times TBD
Saturday, Jan. 18
Sunday, Jan. 19
Sunday, Jan. 26:
MORE:Everything to know about Super Bowl 59
The Los Angeles Chargers take on the Houston Texans in an NFL playoff wild-card game from NRG Stadium in Houston. The venue has a capacity of 72,220 seats but can be expanded to accommodate 80,000.
The Houston area will have a respite from the rain and should have sunshine on Saturday. According to Accuweather, there should be a high of 58 degrees, with temperatures dropping to 53 degrees in the afternoon.
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The NFL’s top 18 players in average annual salary are all quarterbacks, according to OverTheCap.com. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott became the league’s highest-paid player before the 2024 season, agreeing to a four-year, $240 million deal. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is the first non-quarterback on the highest-paid list after striking a four-year, $140 million contract extension this offseason.
We have a complete list at every position:
Just four players in 2024 NFL player pool surpass 40 years old: Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Bears tight end Marcedes Lewis, Rams kicker Matt Prater and Titans kicker Nick Folk.
Only Rodgers will turn 41 during the season, with a birthday that came in the first week in December.
Here’s the full list of the top 11 oldest players in football:
Across all metrics, the top-10 highest-paid players in the NFL are all quarterbacks. Here’s how the breakdown looks by AAV, guarantees, and total contract value this season.
AAV
Guaranteed money
Total contract value
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is the highest-paid non-quarterback by AAV at $35 million per year and San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa is the highest-paid non-quarterback by total value at $170 million non-quarterback by total value at $170 million.
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