The Los Angeles Chargers have their first playoff game on Saturday and though the Texans are tough, they are beatable. Below are some ways the Chargers can make it to a second playoff game.
Make Sure The Run Defense Is On Point
The running back of the Texans, Joe Mixon, has been having a good season. In his first year since leaving Cincinnati, he’s on pace to meet his career-high rushing touchdown number of 2021 (14).
Run defense has certainly been one of the Los Angeles Chargers bright spots in recent weeks, especially when it comes to safety Derwin James Jr., who holds the highest run defense grade (88.6%) of the Chargers according to Pro Football Focus (PFF) with the second most STOPs (32).
On Sunday, in particular, James had a great takedown on Raiders running back Alexander Mattison, where Mattison lost a yard during the second quarter.
Mixon is going to give everyone a bit of a headache, so I’ll be looking at James and linebacker Daiyan Henley to lead the charge in taking him down.
Pressure Texans Quarterback C.J. Stroud
Stroud has not been performing quite up to the same level as last season, and the offensive line is partially to blame but so is Stroud, as he has almost triple the interceptions (12) of last year (five).
The Los Angeles Chargers need to take advantage of the soft protection to create turnovers. James has been excelling in many areas of defense this year, including pass rush, while the outside linebacker crew, including Khalil Mack, has been a great help.
Stroud cannot be allowed to get the ball to playmakers like Texans wide receiver Nico Collins and tight end Dalton Schultz, so it’s all about collapsing the pocket.
Protect Quarterback Justin Herbert From Texans Defensive Ends Will Anderson Jr. And Danielle Hunter
Defensive ends Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter are a fearsome twosome on the Texans defense, both leading the team in sacks (12), quarterback hits (Anderson has eight and Hunter has 13), and hurries (Anderson has 31 and Hunter 41).
There’s a reason Anderson was defensive rookie of the year in 2023 and despite some injuries, he’s still turning in a career season.
The Chargers can hopefully get back left tackle Rashawn Slater, who was missing in action with a knee injury for Sunday’s game. Right guard Trey Pipkins also went out on Sunday with an oblique injury.
So the Los Angeles Chargers will have to do some macgyvering again on this offensive line if all these players aren’t at their best, as it needs to be at full strength to protect Herbert from this Texas pass rush.
Eliminate The Penalties, Especially On Offense
The Los Angeles Chargers offensive penalties were a big problem against the Raiders. There were two back-to-back during the second quarter, one of which resulted in a touchdown by wide receiver Derius Davis not counting due to offensive holding.
Additionally, there was a delay of a game during the third quarter where Herbert can audibly be heard on the broadcast yelling, “What are you waiting for?” as the clock’s at zero and the ball has yet to be snapped.
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Luckily there was a pass interference call on the Raiders a couple of plays later to recover the yardage, but the Chargers have to clean it up. Every penalty, especially when there’s an opportunity to score points, is going to matter in this next game.
Los Angeles Chargers Must Have Success In the Red Zone
According to Fox Sports, though the Texans rank in the top 10 in total and passing defense, and rank in the top 20 in rushing defense, they rank 27th in red zone defense while the Chargers rank 18th in red zone offense.
So the red zone is the area where the Los Angeles Chargers need to throw everything they can at the Texans. Utilize wide receivers Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston to run some fancy routes, have tight end Will Dissly stiff-arm some people, and have a Herbert scramble, anything and everything needs to be attempted to get points during each trip to this area of the field.