Instant analysis after Chargers squander huge chance vs. Texans

The Los Angeles Chargers dug themselves a deep hole with the Houston Texans in town on Saturday, eventually losing, 20-16.

Those Chargers coughed up two easy touchdowns to the C.J. Stroud-led Texans and were never able to scrape back close enough for the game to be interesting.

Justin Herbert still had some MVP-level moments in the process, but the Chargers missed on a chance to make the AFC’s top playoff seed conversation interesting.

Here’s a quick look at notes and numbers to know from the game.

Texans vs. Chargers notes

Chargers coughed up two massive touchdown passes to C.J. Stroud within minutes. The defense looked straight-up lost in the secondary, which is incredibly odd for a Jesse Minter-coordinated group.

Bobby Hart and Mekhi Becton were the two big culprits of early Chargers offensive failures. Hart is an eighth lineman asked to start at tackle and Becton has been a massive free-agency bust.

Elijah Molden was the defender getting picked on in the secondary early on the Texans touchdowns.

Da’Shawn Hand tipped the ball that led to a Derwin James interception.

Oronde Gadsden has been a bright spot as a rookie for the Chargers, but his drop that turned into an interception in the red zone was a disaster. The team was looking at possibly making it a 14-10 game and came away with nothing.

Just three points on two forced turnovers in the first half for the Chargers. Good defensive response after allowing scores, but the offense was nowhere to be found.

Chargers yanked Bobby Hart from the lineup in the third quarter, which was more than justified.

Cameron Dicker summed up this night well: He missed a field goal and a critical extra point.

the rook is in

📺 | @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/SwOKLip9Jl
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) December 28, 2025

Chargers’ player of the game

Edge Odafe Oweh: What a trade by the Chargers. Oweh got pressure at a nice clip and even stuck in coverage well on a wheel route. He’s doing a little bit of everything well and needs to be a priority to bring back.

that's six!

📺 | @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/KdLvo7bOgZ
— Los Angeles Chargers (@chargers) December 27, 2025

Texans vs. Chargers key stat

3: Number of points off turnovers by the Chargers. They just couldn’t capitalize when the defense made plays to get them the ball. They went 2-of-5 in the red zone, too.

Chargers’ biggest takeaway

Not dead: Ugly, yes. But we sort of understood already that a deep playoff run by the Chargers would require a pretty lucky roll of the bracket dice. They need to duck teams with elite front sevens like the Texans to have a chance. A game against, say, Jacksonville, would be much more ideal.

— Enjoy free coverage of the Chargers from Los Angeles Chargers on SI —

Sign Up For the Chargers Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Los Angeles Chargers Newsletter

More Los Angeles Chargers News:

Chargers make official decision on Kimani Vidal as inactives list released vs. Texans

Despite 2 interceptions and some dramatic flopping Chargers trail Texans at halftime