The dark clouds rolled into SoFi Stadium and seemed to hover over the Chargers.
Defensive breakdowns. Offensive bumbles. Botched boots by the NFL’s most accurate kicker.
It was a sloppy Saturday for a team that had won four in a row, and a reminder to the Chargers that the Houston Texans still have their number.
The 20-16 loss came with consequences. The Chargers handed the AFC West title to the Denver Broncos, their Week 18 opponent and bid farewell to the thought of hosting a playoff game.
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Sam Farmer breaks down what went wrong for the Chargers in their 20-16 loss to the Houston Texans on Saturday.
The Chargers also got the reminder that there are tiers to the AFC, and — despite their double-digit victory total — they’re not in the top one. The Texans and their No. 1-ranked defense are, and they routed the Chargers in the first round of the playoffs last season.
With their win Saturday — which included two long touchdown passes by Houston before the Chargers got a single first down — the Texans clinched a playoff berth for the third consecutive season and eliminated Indianapolis.
“Proud to be your coach, proud to be here with you guys and proud to kick that door open to go in the playoffs, baby,” Houston’s DeMeco Ryans told his players in the postgame locker room.
As it stands, and there are still games to be played, the most likely scenarios have the Chargers opening the postseason at New England or Jacksonville. They are currently the AFC’s seventh seed.
Now for the miscues.
On Houston’s opening two possessions, C.J. Stroud hit Jayden Higgins for a 75-yard touchdown and Jaylin Noel for a 43-yard touchdown. Curiously, both Higgins and Noel are rookie receivers from Iowa State, and both were wide open.
Suddenly, SoFi Stadium was so quiet you could almost hear the fans in Denver cheering.
Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is hit by Houston Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. during the second half Saturday. Stingley was injured on the play.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
It was a rip-roaring start for a Texans team that began the season the opposite way. They lost their first three games before winning 10 of the next 12, including the past eight in a row.
But these Chargers have been through a lot (see: offensive line in constant rotation) and they don’t discourage easily, so it wasn’t surprising they clawed their way back.
They regained their footing defensively and got a field goal from Cameron Dicker, then rallied late in the second quarter when Justin Herbert threw a deep ball to Quentin Johnston for 60 yards.
The defense, which pitched second-half shutouts in their last two victories — road wins over Kansas City and Dallas — limited the Texans to a pair of field goals after halftime.
But there was another big gaffe to come. On first down from the Houston 14, Herbert tried to connect over the middle with Oronde Gadsden II. The ball was a bit high, though, and caromed off the hands of the rookie tight end. The ricochet was promptly intercepted at the one. Threat averted.
“I definitely could have lowered the ball, threw less on it,” Herbert said. “But we kept fighting, kept battling, and he made some big plays down the stretch.”
Chargers running back Omarion Hampton is tackled by Houston Texans linebacker Henry To’oTo’o during the second half Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Finally, the most puzzling of the mistakes. The ultra-accurate Dicker, who is headed to his first Pro Bowl, was wide right from 32 yards and later wide left on a point-after attempt. He had never missed a field goal inside of 40 yards in his career.
It was that kind of day for the Chargers, who were stretching and reaching for that last Christmas ornament on the tree as their ladder was tipping over.
Herbert got them close, and took a beating in the process. He was repeatedly swarmed by the NFL’s No. 1 defense, sacked five times and hit eight more.
The Chargers had hoped to establish the run but were unable to do so. Herbert led them with 37 yards rushing, precisely matching the combined total of his team’s three other ballcarriers.
Hebert threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Gadsden at the end of the third quarter that trimmed Houston’s lead to 17-10, and directed a touchdown drive down the stretch in the fourth — capped by a five-yard Omarion Hampton run — that would have put the Chargers a field goal away (but for the missed PAT).
Houston, leading by four, played keep-away the final three minutes, 37 seconds, aided by an illegal-contact penalty on the Chargers on third down. It was a final insult on a day that went sideways from the start.
Chargers fans react during the team’s 20-16 loss to the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium on Saturday.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Now, a question for the NFL is whether to schedule the Chargers for Saturday or Sunday for their finale at Denver.
Had the Chargers beaten Houston, their game at Denver would have been for the AFC West crown, an ideal Saturday night mini-drama for the NFL.
But now the stakes are lower. The Chargers can still improve their seeding, and the Broncos remain in the mix for the AFC’s top seed. What’s more, seeing as the Broncos played on Christmas, neither team would be dealing with a short week if they played Saturday.
Regardless, the Chargers need to regroup, refocus and remind themselves that the road ahead just got steeper.