Texans crush Chargers, force Herbert into 4 INTs

HOUSTON — Eric Murray returned one of Justin Herbert‘s career-high four interceptions for a touchdown, C.J. Stroud threw a TD and the Houston Texans rolled past the Los Angeles Chargers 32-12 in a wild-card playoff game Saturday.

It’s the second straight year Stroud and the Texans won in the first round after they beat Cleveland last season.

Herbert threw just three interceptions in the regular season and had never thrown more than two in a game before facing a Texans secondary led by AP All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley, who had two INTs. Kamari Lassiter had the other pick.

The Chargers, who returned to the playoffs under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh, lost in the wild-card round for a second straight time after also losing in the 2022 season to remain without a postseason win since 2018.

Stroud threw for 282 yards with the touchdown pass to Nico Collins and an interception. Collins finished with seven catches for 122 yards. Joe Mixon ran for 106 yards and a score.

Herbert was 14 of 32 for 242 yards with a 40.9 passer rating.

Things looked bad early for the Texans, who fumbled on their first offense play and were down 6-0 with about a minute left in the first half.

But Stroud threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Collins to put the Texans on top. Ka’imi Fairbairn added a 41-yard field goal to give Houston a 10-6 lead into halftime.

They were up 13-6 when Murray scored his first career touchdown on a 38-yard interception return late in the third quarter.

Herbert was picked off again on the next drive when Stingley grabbed a pass that was tipped off tight end Will Dissly. The third overall pick in the 2022 draft intercepted Herbert again late in the fourth quarter.

Herbert found Ladd McConkey for an 86-yard touchdown reception to cut the Chargers’ deficit to 23-12 in the fourth quarter. But Cameron Dicker‘s extra-point attempt was blocked and returned by Ross to make it 25-12.

A 17-yard run by Mixon extended Houston’s advantage to 32-12 with about four minutes to go.

The Chargers were up by 3 after a field goal on their first drive when John Metchie fumbled after a catch on Houston’s first offensive play and it was recovered by Derwin James.

Dicker added a 39-yard field goal on the ensuing drive to make it 6-0.

Deane Leonard intercepted Stroud early in the second quarter, but Lassiter picked off Herbert on the next play to give Houston the ball back. But the Texans couldn’t move the ball and punted.

Stroud and Houston’s offense finally got something going. Houston was facing third-and-16 from its 17 when Stroud fumbled the snap and it rolled 4 yards behind him. He scooped it up and evaded the rush to find Xavier Hutchinson for a 34-yard gain.

Stroud connected with Collins on a 37-yard reception two plays later to get the Texans in the red zone. He found Collins again on third-and-11 to put Houston on top 7-6 about a minute before halftime.

The Texans forced a punt to get the ball back with 27 seconds left in the second quarter. A season-best 27-yard run by Stroud got the Texans to the Los Angeles 36. The quarterback beat his chest and screamed after taking a hard hit at the end of the run.