Down 6-0 and facing third-and-16 late in the first half, C.J. Stroud fumbled a shotgun snap. Unfazed, the Texans’ quarterback calmly scooped up the fumble at his own 3-yard line, outran three Chargers defenders rolling to his right and fired a deep completion to Xavier Hutchinson.
No wonder Stroud said he relished the underdog role. His 34-yard pass to Hutchinson sparked the Texans on a 99-yard touchdown drive punctuated with a touchdown toss to Nico Collins and Houston never looked back in a 32-12 win at NRG Stadium on Saturday. Powered by a fantastic defensive effort and 106 rushing yards from Joe Mixon, the Texans (11-7) advanced to the divisional round for the second straight postseason.
Justin Herbert and the Chargers (11-7) entered as three-point favorites, and controlled the game for the first 28 minutes. But Houston intercepted Herbert four times – one more than he’d thrown in 17 regular-season games – and held the Chargers to just 3-for-11 on third downs. All-Pro Derek Stingley registered two interceptions while Eric Murray cashed in a Herbert interception for a 38-yard touchdown.
And when Herbert finally connected on a big play, hitting rookie Ladd McConkey on an 86-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, the Texans blocked the ensuing try and D’Angelo Ross returned the loose ball for two more Texans points. Houston outscored the Chargers 32-6 over the final three quarters.
Stroud became just the sixth quarterback in NFL history to win playoff games in each of his first two seasons, joining Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Mark Sanchez, Russell Wilson and Brock Purdy. He got an assist from Collins, who posted seven catches for a franchise-record 122 yards. McConkey, meanwhile, wrapped up an impressive rookie season. The Chargers’ wide receiver broke Puka Nacua’s single-game rookie receiving record with 197 yards on nine catches.
An Ohio State product, Stroud got his first win against Jim Harbaugh. The coach defeated the quarterback on two occasions at Michigan.
For more information on the Texans and Chargers, visit the Houston and L.A. Chargers team pages at ProFootballPost.com.
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