A Will Anderson sack knocked L.A. off script deep in Houston territory. A big drop by Will Dissly set up third-and-19, and Herbert just threw underneath to set up a shorter field goal for Dicker to make it 6-0. Texans got off easy after the turnover.
Alohi Gilman ripped the ball away from John Metchie III just before his knee hit the ground to force a turnover on Houston’s first snap of the afternoon. Yikes. Chargers have great field position to turn this into a two-score game.
The Chargers went jumbo formation on third-and-short and tried to just run it right at the Texans with no motion or misdirection and J.K. Dobbins got stopped behind the line of scrimmage by Foley Fotukasi. Forced a Cameron Dicker field goal. It’s a 3-0 L.A. lead early on.
Early-down play calling. Houston runs the ball quite often on first and second down but is not very good at doing so. Can the Texans avoid putting C.J. Stroud in bad down-and-distance situations?
Where is Ladd McConkey? Does Kamari Lassiter follow him to the slot when L.A. is in 11 personnel? And does Derek Stingley follow him when the Chargers are in two- or three-tight end sets?
Justin Herbert playoff history: Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has appeared in the playoffs just once, a loss to the Jaguars during the 2022 season. He had 273 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and took three sacks, with a completion of 58.1 in that defeat.
The Chargers are using their pregame warmups to thank the Los Angeles Fire Department, after multiple wildfires in California destroyed tens of thousands of acres and killed at least 10 people. Members of the Chargers wore LAFD shirts and hats as a nod to first responders assisting in the ongoing fires.
Chargers vs. Texans history: The Chargers and Texans have met nine times, with the Chargers going 6-3 in those matchups.
C.J. Stroud playoff history: Texans QB C.J. Stroud is set to play in his third career playoff game. He has 449 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions, no sacks and a 64.8 completion percentage in his previous two postseason games, with a 1-1 record. Stroud and the Texans defeated the Browns in the wild-card round last season, but fell to the Ravens in the divisional round.
Josh Palmer’s absences pushes D.J. Chark into a larger role, and Jamaree Salyer will play more with Trey Pipkins out.
Jim Harbaugh is no stranger to the postseason and in his first year back in the NFL, after a break to coach college football, the head coach finds himself in another win or go home game. Harbaugh went 5-3 in the playoffs in with the 49ers.
No Shaq Mason is a big deal. He’s been out since Week 16.
Texans star wide receivers Tank Dell and Stefon Diggs arrived to watch their team battle the Chargers. Dell was placed on injured reserve last month with a significant knee injury. Diggs tore his ACL in Week 8 and has been sidelined since.
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud is getting ready to kick off Wild Card Weekend at home against the Chargers.
