The Texans are now 7-2 in the playoffs. After each of their seven victories, they’ve been eliminated on the road in the divisional round. If they continue to play defense the way they did against the Chargers, they’ll be capable of beating just about anybody.
While they were preparing for the Chargers, Ryans said the game would come down to how the Texans’ defensive line played against the Los Angeles offensive line, one of the NFL’s best.
What the Texans’ linemen – and the defense — did to the Chargers was embarrassing for Harbaugh, who prides himself on being physical.
The Chargers came to Houston with a three-game winning streak and an 11-6 record in Harbaugh’s first season. They allowed a league-low 17.7 points a game, committed only nine turnovers and surrendered 18 red zone touchdowns, fewest in the league. They outscored opponents by 101 points.
The Chargers were 6-3 on the road, and Herbert threw three interceptions, fewest in the league.
The Texans entered postseason with a 1-5 record against playoff teams, including five consecutive losses. They lost those games by an average of 11 points.
No wonder the Chargers were favored.
But what the Texans did best this season – recorded a team-record 49 sacks, pressured quarterbacks, produced 29 takeaways and 19 interceptions – carried over into Saturday’s game.
The way the linemen harassed Herbert, pressuring him on 52 percent of his dropbacks, was so impressive. According to NextGenStats, Herbert was under pressure in 2.5 seconds or less on 11 pass attempts.
Herbert finished with 14-of-32 for 242 yards and a rating of 40.9. His best pass was an 86-yard touchdown to rookie receiver Ladd McConkey.
The Texans limited the Chargers to 261 yards, including 50 rushing and a 2.8-yard average per carry.
“Our defense dominated,” Ryans said. “That’s who we want to be. They played our brand of football. Talk about stopping the run first. Playoff football, first you have to stop the run. That’s where our interior defensive linemen played great.
“I don’t have to challenge those guys at all. They understand the moment. They understand like why we’re built the way we’re built. Our D-line has to dominate. When our D-line plays this way, not only does it help our defense, but it brings enthusiasm to our entire team. They understand that from the moment they sign up to play for the Texans. We’re heavily dependent on our D-line, and they did an outstanding job.”
J.K. Dobbins was the Chargers’ leading rusher with 26 yards on nine carries, a 2.9 average.
“You stop the run, you force teams to have to throw the ball,” Ryans said. “That’s where our entire D-line cut it loose and got a lot of pressure on the quarterback.
“Across the board, those guys were rushing together (and were) disciplined with their rush lanes. Everybody did a good job keeping Herbert in the pocket, and we were able to get him down several times. You make teams one-dimensional, and that’s when our D-line causes havoc.”
Will Anderson had 1.5 sacks and knocked down Herbert three times. Mario Edwards had 1.5 sacks and two knockdowns. Denico Autry got the other sack.
Anderson had seven pressures, and Autry and Danielle Hunter had five each, according to NextGenStats.
“I’m very proud of our defensive line but more proud of our DBs,” Ryans said. “Stingley’s been outstanding all year. Steps up again for us today, gets two picks when we needed them most. He made outstanding plays.”
Besides his two interceptions, Stingley had four tackles, broke up five passes and made a fourth-down tackle that kept the Chargers from possibly scoring.
Safety Eric Murray led the defense with seven tackles and had a pick-six. Cornerback Kamari Lassiter had an interception and didn’t allow a completion.
“The way our DBs are playing opens up a lot defensively,” Ryans said. “(Murray) with the touchdown. Kamari, you talk about a momentum shift, for him to pick the ball – an outstanding play by him.”
The Texans also scored two points on a heads-up play by cornerback D’Angelo Ross. After McConkey scored the Chargers’ only touchdown, Autry blocked Dicker’s extra point. Dicker knocked down the ball when it ricocheted to him, but that’s not a dead ball.
Ross picked up the ball and started running for the Chargers’ end zone with a convoy of Texans protecting him. His two points made it 25-12 with 10:38 left in the game.
“That’s the complementary football we’ve been looking for, just an outstanding performance in all three phases,” Ryans said.
Then, looking back at the beginning of the game when the Texans fell behind, Ryans didn’t want to think about what might have been.
“It’s not about how you start, it’s about how you finish, and we finished the right way,” he said.
