While Rex Ryan is eating crow, the Houston Texans are eating playoff wins.
Behind a four-turnover afternoon from the defense, the Texans secured a 32-12 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round at NRG Stadium.
The Texans, who improved to 6-2 all-time on wild-card round weekend, await the outcome of Sunday’s matchup between the Bills and Broncos to determine where they’ll head in the divisional round.
“Our defense, they dominated today,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “That’s who we want to be. They played our brand of football. They stopped the run first. That’s what I’m most proud of is how we stop the run. And when we stop the run, you make a team one-dimensional, and that’s when our defensive line just causes havoc.”
The defense did deliver in all three phases. Outside of Ladd McConkey, the Chargers’ offense was dormant for four quarters. Justin Herbert never could build a rapport with his other playmakers, thus leading to forced passes at ill-advised times.
Herbert’s first interception landed in the arms of Kamari Lassiter on a deep shot in the red zone. His second turnover resulted in a 36-yard return for a touchdown from Eric Murray.
The final two picks landed in the hands of All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who spent most of his afternoon defending the Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate.
On one of the few plays he didn’t guard him, McConkey went off for an 87-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter.
Herbert was also sacked four times, including twice from Will Anderson Jr.
“We were just being tight with our rush,” Anderson said. “They were sticky in coverage, and we were just able to make some plays, get some turnovers and take the ball away.”
Here are the snap counts from both teams.
#Texans snap counts and stats from 32-12 playoff win over #Chargers @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/otGaLVyiZT
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 12, 2025
Offensive Snaps: 73
Defensive Snaps: 56
Special Teams Snaps: 19
If the Broncos win, the Texans head to Baltimore to take on the Ravens. Should the Bills win, Houston returns to Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Kansas City Chiefs.