Chargers’ AFC West title hopes shattered in loss to Houston Texans
What started as a blowout ended as a nail-biter on Saturday, as the Houston Texans held off the Chargers with a 20-16 victory at SoFi Stadium.
The result reverberated throughout the AFC, with the Denver Broncos winning the AFC West and the Indianapolis Colts eliminated from the playoffs. The Broncos are the first team other than Kansas City to win the division in the last decade.
The Chargers (11-5), who had won four straight games, made uncharacteristic mistakes to waste their scoring opportunities.
Justin Herbert, who otherwise had a great and courageous game, was intercepted a yard short of the end zone in the first half.
Cameron Dicker, the most accurate kicker in NFL history, missed for the first time in his career from within 40 yards and made an extra point try in the fourth quarter, only the fourth failed PAT of his career.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is hit by Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. during the second half Saturday. Stingley was injured during the game.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Herbert completed 21 of 32 passes for 236 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Houston’s CJ Stroud completed 16 of 28 for 244 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Texans (11-5), who started the season 0-3, entered Saturday’s game on a seven-game winning streak.
They hosted the Chargers in the first round of the playoffs last season and won 32-12, intercepting Herbert four times.
On Saturday, Herbert kept the Chargers in the game, absorbing hits from all angles while throwing a 1-yard touchdown pass to Oronde Gadsden II late in the third quarter and setting up another touchdown, a five-yard run by rookie Omarion Hampton, with 3:37 left in the fourth.
Chargers running back Omarion Hampton is tackled by Houston Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o during the second half Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Dicker missed the extra point on that final touchdown, meaning the Chargers couldn’t tie it with a field goal and needed a touchdown.
Late in the first half, Dicker missed a 32-yard field goal, and as strange as that was, it summed up the kind of start it was for the Chargers.
They were flat from the start, giving up a 75-yard touchdown pass on Houston’s first possession and a 43-yard touchdown pass on the second.
The Texans led 14-0, before the Chargers got their first down.
Herbert was sacked three times at halftime, and in the first he appeared to have injured his surgically repaired left hand. At least he grimaced and favored that hand as he left the field, but that didn’t sideline him.
Despite leading by two touchdowns, the Texans did not run away with the game.
Chargers fans react during the team’s 20-16 loss to the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium on Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Derwin James Jr. had an interception early in the second quarter to set up a field goal for the Chargers.
The Chargers scored a field goal and put themselves in position for a touchdown in the second quarter when Herbert connected with Quentin Johnston for a 60-yard gain.
On the next play, however, Herbert attempted to hit Gadsden over the middle. The pass was not perfectly timed and slipped out of the hands of the rookie tight end, who was near the goal line. Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair made the interception on the spot.
A few minutes later, the Chargers would have another golden opportunity to score. Elijah Molden threw an interception at the Houston 32 and his team moved into the red zone before Dicker’s failed attempt.
