Texans’ defense swarms Chargers after offense’s fast start in playoff-clinching victory
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — CJ Stroud’s dynamic first quarter was just the opening act for the Houston Texans.
Once again it was the defense that was in the spotlight.
The Texans had five sacks in their 20-16 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday, which extended Houston’s winning streak to eight and clinched a third straight playoff berth for the first time in franchise history.
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“These guys played at full strength all year, every game,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “But the way the D-line showed up today, sack after sack, really putting pressure on the quarterback, it was really cool to see a lot of different guys getting sacked.”
Defensive end Derek Barnett had two sacks after recording three in the first 15 games. Danielle Hunter and Denico Autry also had a sack, while Henry To’oTo’o had a team-high 12 tackles, including one for a loss.
“Everyone was involved,” Ryans said. “We needed them to play big today and they did.”
Houston entered Week 17 as the NFL leader in yards allowed with 273.3 per game as well as points allowed with 16.6 per game. And they held the Chargers just below that average.
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Stroud completed a 75-yard touchdown pass to rookie Jayden Higgins on Houston’s third offensive play of the game and a 43-yard scoring toss to rookie Jaylin Noel to end the team’s second possession. The Texans led 14-0 less than six minutes into the game.
“It gave us confidence, man,” safety K’Von Wallace said. “We can be more aggressive. We could take more risks. When you have a quarterback that gets dark and distributes like that and gains explosives, you want to do everything to limit the opponent’s explosives. I feel like we did an incredible job of doing just that today.”
The Chargers were held to one field goal in the first half and didn’t reach the end zone until late in the third quarter.
“They’re very good,” said Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, who finished with 236 passing yards. “We have nothing but respect for them, for the way they compete, fly and play for each other.”
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Flying to the ball is what the Texas defense was essentially programmed to do.
“Man, our brand of ball is really just one word and that’s ‘swarm,’” defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said. “No matter what happens, good or bad, everyone swarms. I think we talked about how we were brainwashed into swarming. It’s on everyone’s mind. You enter this field, you swarm.”
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