Houston’s win over the Chargers got the Texans into the playoffs. And it leaves only one spot in the AFC unclaimed.
Six teams are now in: Broncos, Patriots, Jaguars, Texans, Chargers, and Bills.
That leaves one more seat at the table, for one of two teams. Either the Steelers or the Ravens will be the AFC North champions. Pittsburgh’s magic number is one; a Baltimore loss to the Packers tonight or a Steelers win over the Browns on Sunday seals the deal.
Plenty of seed remain TBD, including the AFC East and AFC South champions, along with the all-important No. 1 seed.
Still, six of seven AFC teams are set. Which is the same situation as the NFC, where the only remaining spot will go to eventual NFC South champs, Carolina or Tampa Bay.
The Texans are headed to the playoffs for the third straight season.
Saturday’s 20-16 win over the Chargers in Los Angeles sewed up a postseason berth for DeMeco Ryans’ squad and it closed the door on any hope the Colts had of salvaging a season that has gone off the rails after a 7-1 start. The Texans will face those Colts in Week 18 and the win means there will remain a possibility that they can leapfrog the Jaguars and win the AFC South regardless of what happens in Sunday’s game between their AFC South rivals.
The Chargers loss also means that the Broncos have clinched the AFC West title. It is the first time that a team other than the Chiefs has won that division since 2015.
The Texans got off to a hot start thanks to C.J. Stroud touchdown passes to rookies Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel on their first two possessions, but they failed to put the game away despite a slew of Chargers mistakes. Kicker Cameron Dicker had a pair of them with a missed field goal at the end of the first half and a missed extra point after Omarion Hampton’s touchdown run brought Los Angeles within four points with 3:37 left to play in the game.
It looked like the Chargers would get one last chance to try to pull out the win when Odafe Oweh and Daiyan Henley sacked Stroud on a third down before the two minute warning, but cornerback Tarheeb Still was flagged for illegal contact and the Texans were able to run out the clock from there.
Stroud was 16-of-28 for 244 yards and threw two interceptions to go with the two early touchdowns. Running back Woody Marks added 19 carries for 71 yards, but the driver for the Texans all season has been the defense and it remained so on Saturday.
Justin Herbert was sacked five times and the Chargers failed to get into the end zone until they were down 17-3 at the end of the third quarter. Pass protection has been their Achilles heel all season and their playoff stay is unlikely to be a long one if they can’t find some way to shore it up before the wild card round arrives.
The Chargers spent most of the three quarters stumbling around the field, but the Texans couldn’t pull away and it is now a one-score game in Los Angeles.
Quarterback Justin Herbert found tight end Oronde Gadsden for a one-yard touchdown that cut Houston’s lead to 17-10 with 13 seconds left to play in the third quarter.
Herbert helped set up the score with a 28-yard scramble on a third down and picked up another first down when he stayed on his feet to deliver a pass to Quentin Johnston while being hit by Texans defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins. Herbert, who has been sacked five times, is now 15-of-22 for 160 yards on the afternoon.
The Texans raced out to a 14-0 lead after their first two possessions, but the last eight have produced just three more and they will need to find a way to get things back into gear if they’re going to ensure themselves of a playoff berth by the end of business in Week 17.
The Chargers had a couple of chances to cut into the Texans’ lead before halftime in Los Angeles on Saturday, but they couldn’t make anything of them.
Cameron Dicker missed a 32-yard field goal wide right with 10 seconds to play in the half and the Texans remain up 14-3 with 30 minutes left to play as a result. Dicker’s field goal attempt came after the Chargers took over on the Houston 32-yard line thanks to C.J. Stroud’s second interception of the first half.
The miss was the first of Dicker’s career on a kick inside of 40 yards.
Stroud apparently didn’t see Chargers defensive back Elijah Molden standing between him and wide receiver Christian Kirk and the play gave the Chargers some life after they threw an interception of their own. A Justin Herbert toss to tight end Oronde Gadsden went off the rookie’s hands and into the waiting mitts of Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair on the Houston 1-yard line.
Stroud’s first interception came after Chargers defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage and safety Derwin James reeled it in for the takeaway. That led to the only Chargers points of the first half, but Dicker’s field goal didn’t do much to dent the lead that the Texans built with long touchdown passes on their first two possessions of the game.
Stroud opened the game 6-of-6 for 151 yards, but finished the half 10-of-18 for 185 yards. Herbert is 10-of-14 for 123 yards and he’s been sacked three times.
The Texans have doubled down on long touchdowns in the first quarter of Saturday’s game against the Chargers.
C.J. Stroud threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to rookie Jayden Higgins on the team’s first possession and he found Higgins’ fellow 2025 draft pick and Iowa State product Jaylin Noel on the second possession. This play only covered 43 yards, but the result was another touchdown and a 14-0 lead for Houston.
Stroud is now 4-of-4 for 142 yards.
The Chargers’ lone possession lasted three plays and ended with Texans defensive end Danielle Hunter planting quarterback Justin Herbert into the ground for a sack. Herbert, who recently had surgery to repair a fracture in his left hand, got some medical attention on the sideline after that hit and he may not be in the game long if the Texans keep scoring at will.
