Chargers fall short against Texans

INGLEWOOD — Justin Herbert and the Chargers got a reminder of what it takes to win meaningful games in December when the Houston Texans handed them a 20-16 defeat Saturday at SoFi Stadium. The Texans combined several big plays and a stingy defense to halt the Chargers’ four-game winning streak.

Houston won its eighth consecutive and earned a playoff spot.

The Chargers had their chances, but couldn’t overcome the Texans, the team that ended their 2024 season in their AFC wild card game last January.

The Chargers had already clinched an AFC playoff berth, their second in a row in Jim Harbaugh’s second season as their coach. They hadn’t advanced to the playoffs in consecutive seasons since 2008 and ‘09. They also had a chance to rally for their first AFC West title since ‘09.

Winning the West was in their hands, but they needed to defeat the Texans on Saturday and the Denver Broncos in their regular-season finale next weekend. Two victories would have enabled the Chargers to tie the Broncos, but give them the division title with two wins over Denver. Now they’ll be a wild card team and can finish anywhere from fifth to seventh.

But things went sideways in a hurry for the Chargers. The Texans needed only seven plays from scrimmage to build a 14-0 lead in a span of only 3:42, scoring on C.J. Stroud’s touchdown passes of 75 yards to Jayden Higgins on their first possession and 43 yards to Jaylin Noel on their second.

Suddenly, a decidedly amped-up, pro-Chargers crowd fell silent after Houston captured lightning in a bottle twice in two drives. By the end of the first quarter, the Chargers were outgained by an astounding 171-15 despite having the ball for 30 seconds longer than the Texans.

“Nobody was near them, bro,” Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. said of coverage breakdowns that led to the Texans’ touchdowns. “We don’t just give up a walk-in (touchdown). Nobody touched them. That hasn’t happened all year. We just miscommunicated on both.”

James dismissed any notion that the Chargers’ second-half defensive improvement was a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing final result. If anything, it underscored their inability to play to the standards of a rival playoff team, an opponent that found a way to win despite largely getting shut down after the first two TD drives.

“We blow the coverage, not even punching them in the mouth, just blown coverage,” he said. “And then, ‘OK, now we’re good, now we’re talking. We don’t want to be that defense.”

By halftime, the Texans led 14-3, and the Chargers had to be kicking themselves for scoring only three points after intercepting Stroud twice on as many possessions late in the second quarter.

James’ interception set up Cameron Dicker’s 27-yard field goal to narrow their deficit. Elijah Molden’s interception set up the Chargers for a last-minute field goal attempt, but Dicker’s 32-yard attempt sailed wide right with 10 seconds left in the half.

It was Dicker’s first miss inside of 40 yards in his career. It also was only his third miss from anywhere on the field this season.

Another scoring chance fizzled when Herbert’s pass to tight end Oronde Gadsden slipped through his hands and into the hands of Houston’s Azeez Al-Shaair at the 1-yard line. Al-Shaair was lucky to be on the field at that point after a helmet-to-helmet hit on running back Omarion Hampton earlier in the quarter.

Safety Tony Jefferson was ejected from the Chargers’ victory Dec. 14 over the Kansas City Chiefs for a similar hit and linebacker Denzel Perryman was suspended for the final two regular-season games for a helmet-to-helmet hit during their victory Dec. 21 over the Cowboys.

The Texans took a 17-10 lead into the fourth quarter. Herbert drove the Chargers 64 yards and injected some needed momentum into their offense with a 28-yard scramble to the Texans’ 16-yard line. He capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Gadsden with 13 seconds left in the third.

Ka’imi Fairbairn’s 41-yard field goal that gave the Texans a 17-3 lead with 6:04 left in the third quarter were the first second-half points the Chargers had given up since the fourth quarter of their 22-19 overtime victory over the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Dec. 8.

Fairbairn countered Herbert’s TD pass with a 44-yard field goal with 6:29 left in the game. Herbert responded by leading the Chargers on a 75-yard scoring drive. Hampton ran 5 yards for the touchdown, but Dicker missed the extra point and the Chargers trailed 20-16 with 3:37 left.

The Texans then ran out the clock. Herbert completed 21 of 32 passes for 236 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He was sacked five times while playing behind a patchwork offensive line that was no match for the Texans’ defensive front at times.

“We didn’t make enough plays today,” Herbert said, referring to the Chargers going 2 for 5 in the red zone. “The ‘D’ came up with some big plays for us, came up with some big turnovers, and that’s on us as an offense to execute and score points in the red zone.”