HOUSTON – Derek Stingley says the Texans aim to force three turnovers a game.
On Saturday against the Los Angeles Chargers, they surpassed that goal with the All-Pro cornerback grabbing two of Justin Herbert's career-high four interceptions to help Houston roll to a 32-12 wild-card playoff victory.
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“We’re just going out there playing like we’ve got to get the ball to win,” Stingley said.
Eric Murray returned one of the interceptions for a touchdown and C.J. Stroud threw a TD pass in Houston's win.
Since the merger, quarterbacks are 55-551-2 when throwing four or more interceptions in the regular season and just 3-33 when doing so in the playoffs.
“I let the team down,” Herbert said. “You can’t turn over the ball like that and expect to win. I put the team in a tough position there with four turnovers like that.”
It’s the second straight year Stroud and the Texans (11-7) won in the first round after they beat Cleveland last season.
“It hasn’t always been easy this year,” Stroud said. “But this is just another thing that we can use to motivate us even more.”
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 Stingley. Rookie Kamari Lassiter had the other pick.
The Texans made Herbert uncomfortable in the pocket all day, sacking him four times and hitting him another nine.
“Our defense, they dominated today,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “And that’s who we want to be. They played our brand of football.”
The Chargers (11-7), 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.
Harbaugh, who won a national championship with Michigan in Houston last January, took the blame for the loss.
“They were the better team today," he said. "All respect to them. Not being the better team today, I’m accountable for that. That’s on me.”
Stroud threw for 282 yards with the touchdown pass to Nico Collins and an interception. Stroud joined Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger, Baltimore's Joe Flacco, the New York Jets' Mark Sanchez, Seattle's Russell Wilson and San Francisco's Brock Purdy as quarterbacks to win playoff starts in each of their first two seasons.
Collins finished with seven catches for 122 yards to set a franchise playoff record. Joe Mixon ran for 106 yards and a score. D’Angelo Ross returned a blocked extra point for 2 points for Houston in the fourth quarter.
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.
“That was an outstanding play,” Ryans said. “To me that was the play of the game that really created momentum for our entire team.”
Harbaugh agreed.
“It grabbed quite a bit of momentum," he said. "It’s my job, our job, to get the momentum back.”
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 cap the 99-yard drive and 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.
Injuries
Chargers: LB Denzel Perryman injured an elbow in the first quarter and didn’t return. ... CB Cam Hart injured a shoulder.
Up next
The Texans move on to the divisional round for the sixth time, where they’ll try to advance to the AFC championship game for the first time in franchise history.
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