C.J. Stroud threw two long touchdown passes and the Houston Texans clinched a playoff berth with a 20-16 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday afternoon at Inglewood, Calif.
Stroud connected with Jayden Higgins on a 75-yard touchdown pass and Jaylin Noel on a 43-yard scoring pass in the first six minutes as Houston (11-5) came out strong to lay the groundwork for its eighth straight win. Derek Barnett had two of the Texans’ five sacks.
Stroud completed 16 of 28 passes for 244 yards and two interceptions for the Texans, who remain alive in the AFC South but are assured of at least a wild-card berth. The Jacksonville Jaguars (11-4) lead the division.
Justin Herbert completed 21 of 32 passes for 236 yards, one touchdown and one interception for the Chargers (11-5), who were eliminated from the AFC West race and will begin the playoffs on the road. The loss allowed the Denver Broncos (13-3) to clinch the division heading into their matchup with Los Angeles next week.
Omarion Hampton rushed for a touchdown and Oronde Gadsden II caught one for Los Angeles.
The Chargers were down 14 when they began their comeback attempt with a 1-yard touchdown pass from Herbert to Gadsden with 13 seconds left in the third quarter.
Ka’imi Fairbairn booted a 44-yard field goal to give the Texans a 20-10 advantage with 6:29 remaining.
Los Angeles pulled within four when Hampton scored from the 5 with 3:37 remaining. But Cameron Dicker was wide left on the extra point to prevent the Chargers from making it a field-goal game.
Houston then got two first downs while running out the clock.
Stroud’s two long early touchdown passes caught the Los Angeles defense napping.
On the game’s third offensive play, Higgins sped past the Chargers’ secondary and hauled in Stroud’s throw at the Los Angeles 35 and finished off the 75-yard scoring pass.
Stroud struck again on Houston’s next possession, connecting with Noel on a 43-yard play to make it 14-0 with 9:17 left in the first quarter.
Los Angeles finally got on the board when Dicker booted a 27-yard field goal with 6:10 left in the half.
The highly-accurate Dicker could have trimmed the deficit by three more points but he missed wide to the right from 32 yards with 10 seconds remaining in the half. It marked the first time he missed from under 40 yards during four NFL seasons.
Houston’s lead increased to 17-3 on Fairbairn’s 41-yard field goal with 6:04 left in the third quarter.
