Chargers at Texans Pre-Game Discussion (Wild Card Round)

[Riverwalk]

don't think we're gonna get much outta the likes of Dobbins, ??

I haven’t seen a player with more heart than Dobbins and he’s fighting for a new contract. He understands this could be the last 60 minutes of the season.

If he’s out there, which I believe he will be, I think you can count on him giving 110%

[Critty]

It's nice to have playoff football again.
I'm expecting post season trips every year with JH3.
And I haven't forgot that Jim said multiple Superbowls when hired. I hope he gets trophy 1 right away. How great would that be..pull it down!

[sonorajim]

I'm betting on Harbaugh, Hortiz, G-Ro and Minter for the W. Harbaugh & Co have been preparing for this game since they became Chargers. The goal was to make the postseason and win when they get there.Get better every day, better than yesterday, not as good as tomorrow.
Harbaugh's record suggests that he knows what he's doing, I believe that his level of desire is second to none and that it is infectious. The Chargers players are bought in.
He knows Houston, their players and tendencies top to bottom but most particularly Stroud. I do expect a good contest because of Hou's talent at QB, RB and edge and patience on our part but we close strong. LAC 27- Hou 17.

[cmplxgal]

No Zeke?

[Formula 21]

Chance to make the SB, per The Athletic

2. Los Angeles Chargers


Record/seed: 11-6, No. 5 in AFC
Chalk path: At Texans (4), at Chiefs (1), at Buffalo (2)
Chance to beat those opponents: 6.3%

By the numbers: Just one year after ranking 27th in the NFL in expected points allowed, the Chargers led the league in scoring defense, giving up only 17.7 points per game. A resurgent Derwin James Jr. and a bunch of smart, relatively inexpensive acquisitions have keyed dramatic improvement, as players like Poona Ford, Kristian Fulton and Elijah Molden had terrific regular seasons. And under Jim Harbaugh, the Chargers have quickly become masters of doing all the little things that don’t show up on stat sheets — except they do show up, if you know where to look.

The Chargers don’t commit penalties (1,587 yards lost to penalties on offense and defense combined, fourth-lowest in the NFL). They gained 12 yards per punt return this year but gave up just 9.6. They attempted more field goals than they allowed, and Cameron Dicker was nine for 11 on attempts of more than 50 yards. Oh yeah, and while he was setting career highs in YPA and passer rating, Justin Herbert threw just three picks in 504 attempts this season. This is a team that just does not make mistakes.

Also, while they haven’t managed to actually do it since 2021, the Chargers are positioned as well as any team to take down the Chiefs. In their last meeting, at Arrowhead Stadium in December, Herbert passed for 213 yards, while Patrick Mahomes had 210. L.A. ran for 94 yards, K.C. 96. Each team had 20 first downs, took three sacks and lost no turnovers. The Chiefs escaped on a last-second field goal, but even a single bounce could have changed the outcome. An underdog can’t ask for much more.

On the other hand: The Chargers’ defense sagged against Baltimore and Tampa Bay in the second half of the year. And while Ladd McConkey has been a pleasant surprise, Herbert is seriously short on game-changing targets. The Chargers’ dearth of receivers is the most visible sign of how they purged many of their biggest contracts after last year. That’s something they found ways to work around throughout the regular season, but it might leave them vulnerable in the coming weeks.


6. Houston Texans


Record/seed: 10-7, No. 4 in AFC
Chalk path: vs. Chargers (5), at Chiefs (1), at Bills (2)
Chance to beat those opponents: 1.9%

Behind the numbers: Houston has the worst average power rating of any playoff team, and the only reason why their Super Bowl odds aren’t similarly ranked is the fact that they open with a home game against the Chargers. But this is a division champ in name only. Their stats are a testament to mediocrity: 16th in total DVOA, 25th in offensive EPA per snap and 1-5 vs. teams with winning records. The Texans do rank fifth in overall defensive EPA per snap, but like Denver, their performance dipped against teams with winning records (15th). And while the Texans entered the season poised to be an offensive juggernaut, C.J. Stroud’s development was compromised by an offensive line that allowed a 36.7 percent pressure rate (ninth-worst), injuries to Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell and a run game that ranked last in success rate at 31.5 percent.

On the other hand: In this case, there’s not much reason for doubt. The numbers tell an accurate story of a team that beat up a lousy division but simply doesn’t have enough talent to beat the best teams in the league. Houston’s odds are enhanced by virtue of their home matchup against the Chargers and then a potential game against a Chiefs team that is analytically penalized for scraping out so many close wins. But unless some other upsets take out the Bills and Ravens, winning three straight games seems like far too tall of a task.

[Xenos]

No Zeke?

[Formula 21]

Jaret Patterson? I don’t like the sound of that.

[Xenos]

[CivilBolt]

Wow. I would like to know what happened to ASJ to be in the doghouse this long

[Xenos]

Jaret Patterson? I don’t like the sound of that.

Probably need a ST guy if Fehoko is going to play more and Taylor is now on IR.

[jamrock]

Jaret Patterson? I don’t like the sound of that.

No Zeke

[Boltdiehard]

No Zeke

We gotta win one if we wanna see Zeke. 🙂