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Sat, December 27, 2025 at 4:44 PM PST<\/p>\nCross off one possible marquee matchup for Week 18.<\/p>\n
The NFL might be scrambling to flex games that have much impact on the playoff race. The Los Angeles Chargers could have set up an AFC West championship game in Week 18 with a win Saturday, but they came out surprisingly flat against the Houston Texans. Los Angeles fell behind 14-0 in the first few minutes and never recovered in a damaging 20-16 loss.<\/p>\n
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On the Texans\u2019 first two possessions they hit two long touchdowns on a defense that rarely gives up deep passes, and that was too much for the Chargers to overcome. It\u2019s not fun going against the Texans\u2019 fierce defense when Houston has a lead.<\/p>\n
Houston\u2019s win keeps it alive in the AFC South race \u2014 the Jacksonville Jaguars can not clinch it in Week 17 anymore \u2014 and reinforced that it is a team nobody wants to face in the playoffs. Houston has the best defense in the NFL and while its offense went quiet after a fast start Saturday it is getting valuable contributions from rookies late in the season and that has helped. Even if Houston doesn\u2019t beat Jacksonville for the division title, its defense will be just fine on the road in the playoffs.<\/p>\n
The Indianapolis Colts were eliminated thanks to the Texans’ win, while the Denver Broncos clinched the AFC West title with the Chargers\u2019 loss. They still will be seeking the No. 1 seed in the AFC next week, but a potentially monumental game for the division title won\u2019t be happening in Denver. The NFL couldn\u2019t have been happy about that.<\/p>\n
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Chargers have a bad first half<\/p>\n
Everything was off for the Chargers, and that was evident right away. Less than two minutes into the game, Texans rookie receiver Jayden Higgins ran wide open deep downfield and C.J. Stroud hit him for a 75-yard touchdown.<\/p>\n
On Houston\u2019s second drive, Stroud threw deep to another rookie, Jaylin Noel, for a 43-yard touchdown. For a defense that doesn\u2019t give up much deep, it was a terrible start.<\/p>\n
The offense and special teams had their own issues too. Justin Herbert hit Quentin Johnson for a 60-yard gain, then on the next play a pass went off Oronde Gadsden II\u2019s hands and was intercepted.<\/p>\n
The Chargers got it right back on a terrible interception by Stroud but Cameron Dicker, who was 68 of 68 in his career on field-goal attempts within 40 yards, missed a 32-yard attempt wide right.<\/p>\n
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The Chargers did not look like a team that needed to win to set up an AFC West championship game next week. Houston\u2019s defense is the best in the NFL and it had a lot to do with the Chargers\u2019 malaise. But the Chargers were trailing 14-3 at halftime, were outgained 258-131 in the first half and didn\u2019t look like the playoff team they are.<\/p>\n
Houston maintains its lead<\/p>\n
The Chargers\u2019 defense kept the team in it after the two long touchdowns at the start of the game, and Los Angeles finally got in the end zone late in the third quarter. Herbert made two fantastic plays to keep the drive going: a 28-yard run on third-and-14 and an 8-yard pass on third-and-6 when he was wrapped up but refused to go down. Gadsden scored the touchdown to cut Houston\u2019s lead to 17-10.<\/p>\n
The way the Texans\u2019 defense was playing, it wasn\u2019t going to take too much more from Houston\u2019s offense to put the game away. Houston had a short drive after a bad L.A. punt and a 44-yard field goal put Houston ahead 20-10 with 6:29 remaining.<\/p>\n
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The Chargers got a touchdown back on a run by rookie Omarion Hampton. Dicker, who had missed only three of his 129 extra-point attempts in his career, missed the extra point wide left. Dicker is one of the best kickers in the NFL but his misses on short kicks cost the Chargers four points, and they trailed 20-16 with 3:37 remaining.<\/p>\n
The Chargers thought they had forced a punt right before the two-minute warning, but a questionable illegal contact penalty on cornerback Tarheeb Still wiped out a third-down sack and gave Houston a first down. Los Angeles never got the ball back. The Chargers played better after a terrible start, but they once again had trouble protecting the quarterback, the special teams were a major letdown and the two big plays they allowed early in the game led to the loss.<\/p>\n
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There are still some possible big games for Week 18. The 49ers and Seahawks could play for the NFC West championship. The Panthers and Buccaneers might face off with the NFC South title on the line. There are a few potential options for the NFL to feature on Saturday and Sunday night if there are certain outcomes over the rest of Week 17. But a potentially great Broncos-Chargers matchup has a lot less juice.<\/p>\n
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more as the Houston Texans and Los Angeles Chargers battle it out on Saturday afternoon:<\/p>\n
Live coverage is over31 updates<\/p>\n
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 2:07 PM PST<\/p>\n
Sat, December 27, 2025 at 4:44 PM PST<\/p>\n
Tarohn Finley<\/p>\n