5 Texans NFL Playoff Heroes Against Chargers

The Houston Texas opened the NFL Wild Card weekend with a dominating loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The home team overcame a sloppy first quarter to light up the scoreboard in a 32-12 loss on Saturday.

Multiple factors contributed to Houston’s upset at NRG Stadium. Especially in overcoming a 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 Texan heroes? They represent three in attack, then two in defense. Here’s who they are.

Houston erupted for 10 points in the final six minutes of the second quarter. But the rise began, of all things, with a mistake by CJ Stroud.

The sophomore quarterback chased after a failed tackle, then ran to his right. But he found a wide open Xavier Hutchinson for 34 yards.

That play more than averted disaster for the Texans. That sparked their 32-7 run the rest of the afternoon. Even head coach DeMeco Ryans said as much at halftime Stroud changed his game to help fuel the rally.

Stroud finished the drive with a 13-yard run Nico Collins to put Houston ahead for good. Speaking of the Texans first touchdown creator of the day…

Niko Collins, wide receiver

Collins delivered a dominant offense against the league’s seventh-best passing defense.

The veteran wide receiver bolted for seven catches for 122 yards and a first-half touchdown. Collins went on to average 17.4 yards per reception against a much-improved pass defense.

The 6-foot-4, 222-pounder had his first 100-yard outing since Dec. 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he went for 119 yards.

Joe Mixon now knows what it’s like to taste playoff victory again. He hasn’t felt this postseason victory euphoria since January 22, 2023.

But he delivered an “NVP” performance in this loss. Mixon showed off for the Nickelodeon cameras racking up 25 carries, 106 yards and one score. He earned the “Nickelodeon Player of the Year” in the 20-point victory.

Mixon has outdone himself his previous playoff best of 105 yards since that 2022-23 road win over the Buffalo Bills. He is now 6-2 all-time in playoff games — but has his first postseason win with the Texans.

Will Anderson Jr. it shows just how impactful his presence is playing for a legendary defender from the franchise’s past in Ryans.

The third overall pick in the 2023 draft entered this game with 11 sacks during the regular season. He immediately started a pass on Justin Herbert’s offense in the first quarter.

Anderson consistently caught the All-Pro KB hitting him three times and producing 1.5 sacks of Herbert. He set the tone for the pass rush that elevated the Texans to the fifth and final hero of Wild Card weekend.

Derek Stingley Jr., corner

The Texans defense had four interceptions. Stingley stole half of that total.

Both came during the fourth quarter to seal the loss. Stingley returned his first into the Chargers red zone with less than 14 minutes to play. Third pick in the 2022 draft then dropped his coverage deep to grab pick #2 – this one is under the three minute mark.

He now has three career games with two interceptions. But Saturday’s performance proved to be extra special, as he finished his first multi-interception game of the playoffs.