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The Houston Texans opened NFL Wild Card weekend with a dominating beatdown of the Los Angeles Chargers. The home team shed a sloppy first quarter to light up the scoreboard in the 32-12 rout on Saturday.
Multiple factors played into Houston's romp at NRG Stadium. Especially in overcoming the slow first quarter and two early turnovers. But five members of the Texans earned our “hero” label in this 20-point victory.
Who are the five Texans heroes? They represent three on offense, then two on defense. Here's who they are.
CJ Stroud, quarterback
Houston erupted for 10 points in the final six minutes of the second quarter. But the surge started on, of all things, a C.J. Stroud miscue.
The second-year quarterback chased after a botched snap, then fled to his right. But he found a wide open Xavier Hutchinson for 34 yards.
C.J. Stroud with the INSANE throw after the bad snap 😱pic.twitter.com/Ip22vARQ5m
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 11, 2025
That play did more than avert disaster for the Texans. It sparked their 32-7 run the rest of the afternoon. Even head coach DeMeco Ryans said at halftime that Stroud changing his play helped fuel the rally.
Stroud capped the drive with a 13-yard touchdown to Nico Collins to put Houston ahead for good. Speaking of the Texans' first touchdown maker of the day…
Nico Collins, wide receiver
Collins delivered a dominating outing against the league's seventh-best passing defense.
The veteran wide receiver shredded the Bolts for seven catches for 122 yards and the first half touchdown. Collins went on to average 17.4 yards per reception against a vastly improved pass defense.
The 6-foot-4, 222-pounder delivered his first 100-yard outing since Dec. 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he went off for 119 yards.
Joe Mixon, running back
Joe Mixon now know what it's like to taste a playoff win again. He hasn't felt this winning euphoria in the postseason since Jan. 22, 2023.
But he delivered an “NVP” performance in this rout. Mixon showed out in front of the Nickelodeon cameras by handling 25 carries, 106 yards and scoring once. He earned the “Nickelodeon Valuable Player” in the 20-point win.
Mixon surpassed his previous playoff best of 105 yards from that 2022-23 season road victory over the Buffalo Bills. He's now 6-2 all-time in playoff games — but has his first postseason victory with the Texans.
Will Anderson Jr., edge rusher
Will Anderson Jr. is showing how impactful his presence is while playing for a past franchise legendary defender in Ryans.
The third overall selection of the 2023 draft entered this game snatching 11 sacks during the regular season. He started the pass rushing onslaught of Justin Herbert right away during the first quarter.
HUGE sack by Will Anderson Jr.@HoustonTexans 💪 pic.twitter.com/7ghP3Rnm5A
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 11, 2025
Anderson consistently got after the All-Pro QB by hitting him three times and producing the 1.5 sack of Herbert. He set the tone for a pass rush that elevated the picks for the fifth and final Texans hero of Wild Card weekend.
Derek Stingley Jr., cornerback
The Texans defense swooped up four interceptions. Stingley snatched half of that total.
Both arrived during the fourth quarter to seal the rout. Stingley brought his first one back to the Chargers' red zone with under 14 minutes in the game. The No. 3 selection of the 2022 draft then played his coverage deep to grab pick No. 2 — this one coming underneath the three-minute mark.
He now has three career two-interception games. But Saturday's performance emerged as extra special, because he completed his first multiple interception playoff game.
