NFL Wildcard Preview 2024-2025: #4 Houston Texans vs. #5 Los Angeles Chargers

NFL Wildcard Preview 2024-2025: #4 Houston Texans vs. #5 Los Angeles Chargers

It’s that time of year. IT’S PLAYOFF TIME. This NFL Wildcard Preview features two of the youngest teams in the NFL in the Houston Texans and the Los Angeles Chargers. This opens up the first game of the 2024-2025 playoffs and it has a chance to be a doozy. Enough foreplay, let’s analyze the game and pick a winner, shall we?

First, the particulars about the game down below:

• When: Saturday, January 11
• Where: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas
• Time: 4:30 ET
• TV: CBS
• Live Stream: Fubo, NFL+, Paramount+, YouTube TV
• Spread: Chargers -3.0
• Over/Under: 44.5

Why The Texans Will Win:

1: The Texans Have Better Offensive Weapons

While the Chargers do have Justin Herbert and Ladd McConkey, the Texans have better weapons everywhere else on the offense. Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce is a better duo than JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards. Nico Collins, John Metchie III, and Dalton Schultz is a better trio than Quentin Johnston, Will Dissly, and Ladd McConkey. CJ Stroud has been a shell of himself of last year, but he can take care of the ball and put the ball in the hands of their playmakers, they have a solid shot to win.

2: Texans Corners Will Give Ladd McConkey A Bad Time

Derek Stingley Jr. is a motherf*cking dawg. As much as I like Ladd McConkey and how good I think he is, Stingley will give him fits on the offensive end. It’s not much better on the other side with Jeff Okudah who is solid himself. If they can shut Ladd McConkey down, They’re forcing Quentin Johnston and Joshua Palmer to hurt them in the passing game, which just seems unlikely, let’s be honest.

3: The Moment Is Too Bright For Justin Herbert

As talented as Justin Herbert is, he somehow seems to fail them when it matters. In 2021, he had to beat the Raiders in week 18 to make the playoffs, he didn’t get it done. In 2022, he and the Chargers had a monumental collapse against the Jaguars. The Chargers were up 27-0 in the 2nd quarter and 27-7 at halftime. They ended up losing the game 31-30. In 2023, the Chargers went 5-12. Now, they made the playoffs and are the 5th seed. But, will the moment be too big for Justin Herbert again? Or will he finally get his first playoff win since being in the NFL. For what it’s worth, CJ Stroud already has a playoff win, winning a playoff game as a rookie.

Power Rankings: 2024-25 NFL Playoffs

Why The Chargers Will Win:

1: Coaching Matters

Jim Harbaugh came to town and went to work. You could argue that talent wise the Chargers got worse, but they did tremendously better than last year. It’s not a mistake, going from Brandon Staley to Jim Harbaugh made all the difference for the Chargers with less talent. Coaching matters in the NFL, who knew? With that being said, who do you trust more as a coach? Jim Harbaugh or DeMeco Ryans? Exactly, Jim Harbaugh has less talent and they will play better than the Texans.

2: Chargers Defense Shocks Teams

Chargers defense is nasty right now. The Chargers’ defense lead the NFL in opponents points per game at 17.7. In away games, they only allow 13.9 PPG this year. When teams are in the RedZone against the Chargers, they only allow TDs 45% of the time, the best in the NFL. They really adapted the “bend don’t break” philosophy on the defensive end. As long as they don’t give up TDs they can live with it. This could be a nightmare for the Texans. They are only scoring an average of 21.9 PPG, including only 14.7 PPG the last 3 games. YIKES. To make matters worse, the Texans rank 26th in the NFL in RedZone offense in scoring TDs at 49%. The Texans’ offense can be stagnant at times and against the Chargers stingy defense scoring wise, it could be a low scoring game for the Texans.

3: Justin Herbert Is Hungry For His First Playoff Win

As I ripped him earlier for the moment being too bright for Justin Herbert, I have to consider the other side of the spectrum. I’m sure Herbert hears the criticism that I expressed earlier and he’s tired of it. Even if the Texans haven’t been playing their best ball lately, a playoff win would surely quell the haters. With Jim Harbaugh keeping his defense stout and putting Justin Herbert in the best position to win on offense, he has a great chance to win his first playoff game.

Verdict: Chargers defeat the Texans 20-13.

This one should be a low scoring game for this NFL Wildcard Preview. I think Vegas gave the Texans a little too much credit on the O/U and on the spread. If the Chargers can get a hold on Joe Mixon and Nico Collins, the Texans should have a tough time scoring the ball. Ladd McConkey might not play well due to Stingley and Okudah, but JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards should and will be active in this game. The Chargers will look to have long drives to tire out the Texans’ defense and put points up, while limiting the Texans already poor RedZone offense with their great RedZone defense. I could see one long (or longer) TD from Nico Collins or a breakout run from Joe Mixon, but that will be their only TD of the game.

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