Former Chargers kicker John Carney and wide receiver Anthony Miller were honored on Sunday at SoFi Stadium as they were inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame. Whatever nostalgia and warm fuzzies that ceremony gave to the Chargers fans in attendance was about all they got out of their trip to Inglewood on Sunday.
The Chargers were battered by the Texans 41-22 at home in Week Nine behind C.J. Stroud’s 384 passing yards and five touchdowns. Not only did Stroud make a number of impressive throws, but his receivers were also equally as impressive with the amount of tough and contested catches they managed to come down with.
Until the fourth quarter, the Chargers offense was the antithesis of the Texans. While it took long drives for Justin Herbert and the Bolts to end up with only three points, Houston only needed two or three plays on multiple drives to find the end zone in a flash.
By the time Quentin Johnston took a short slant from Herbert for a long 58-yard touchdonwn, the Chargers had gone 37 consecutive drives without finding the end zone. They entered Sunday’s game with 27 consecutive drives, which was the second most since 2024 when the Mike McDaniel-led Dolphins went 30 drives without a touchdown.
Herbert ended the night 13-of-23 for 193 yards and one touchdown with one intereception. His 11th pick of the season was on a deep pass to Johnston on a skinny post out of the slot that cornerback Derek Stingley snagged with one hand over his shoulder. The interception was not a pretty choice, but otherwise Herbert played fine enough while his receivers dropped several passes in the first half.
The run game was mostly held in check until Omarion Hampton broke loose for 32 yards in the fourth. He ended up leading the team with 60 yards on 13 carries.
Johnston’s lone reception of the night was his 58-yard score which also left him as the team leader in receiving yards. KeAndre Lambert-Smith also snagged a singular pass for 50 yards while Keaton Mitchell and and Charlie Kolar caught a trio of passes for 34 and 31 yards, respectively.
It was a step back for the Chargers defense that had been playing very well given the circumstances of this season. Even when you take out the multiple drives against the Texans offense tha started in their own territory, the Bolts secondary was getting diced up for most of the night. Whether it was deep ball completions or huge gains via catch-and-runs, the Houston wideouts were legitimately balling out for their quarterback.
At 0-8, the Chargers sit in the same place they’ve been all season long. They have no wins. They have no answers. And at this point, it’s incredibly hard to say if anyone has a future with the franchise outside of an elite few.
Getting trounced in your own home is embarrassing. Getting trounced at home on a night honoring a pair of team legends is even worse. As much as this dire situation normally calls for some level of change, this team has been immensely stubborn in enacting that presumed path forward.
Will that dreaded call from the very top finally come in? Was losing by three touchdowns at home the final straw?
The short history of this season tells us there’s likely nothing of substance coming out of the team over the next 24 hours, but this is the NFL. Crazy things happen just about every week. The Chargers’ time for things to finally hit the fan has been waiting around the corner for weeks and weeks.
Camels can only carry so much straw.
For a complete recap of today’s game, continue on below!
The Texans began the game on offense after the Chargers won the coin toss and chose to defer.
Stroud came out throwing, hooking up with receive Nico Collins for a gain of 19 on the first play from scrimmage. Two plays later, the Chargers defense looked to have gotten a stop by forcing an incompletion on third-and-two, but cornerback Tarheeb Still was flagged for a facemask penalty and the Texans were given 15 free yards and an automatic first.
On third-and-six from the Chargers 17-yard line, Stroud found wide receiver Xavier Hutchison to put Houston up early 7-0 roughly five minutes into the game.
Justin Herbert and the Chargers responded with a nine-play, 34-yard drive that ended in a 52-yard field goal by Cameron Dicker. On third-and-nine from the Houston 40-yard line, Mike McDaniel chose to run the football over passing for the first down, which resulted in a gain of six but well short of the sticks.
The Chargers defense did a better job of getting off the field on their second outing, but Houston still go close enough to convert a long 56-yard field goal. On the other side, Herbert and the offense could not bring themselves back into field goal range to match Houston and were forced to punt for the first time.
Los Angeles’ defense finally forced their first punt of the game after a three-and-out by the Texans to begin the quarter. The Bolts turned that momentum into their second field goal of the day after a nine-play, 36-yard drive that looked like a touchdown was finally in the forecast when Herbert and Co. faced a first-and-goal from the nine-yard line. However, they ended up going backwards six yards over the next three plays before settling for three.
The Chargers defense struck with their first turnover of the game when a Stroud pass over the middle was deflected into the air by linebacker Del’Shawn Phillips. Fellow linebacker Daiyan Henley was luckily in the area and managed to haul in the takeaway before returning it 18 yards the other way.
Despite the momentum shift, the Chargers offense managed just 14 yards in six plays. Dicker came on and converted from 43 yards out to make it 10-9 with a little over five minutes remaining in the first half.
That one-point deficit unfortunately lasted no time at all for the Bolts.
On the second play of the ensuing drive for the Texans, wide receiver Tank Dell ran an out-and-up against Donte Jackson along the right sideline. Jackson left his feet to bat the pass but the ball sailed over his hand and Dell caught it in stride before coasting untouched into the end zone. It took just 43 seconds and the Bolts were now facing their biggest deficit of the game.
Needing points in the worst way, the Chargers offense got things started by allowing a sack on Herbert for a loss of five yards. All-Pro Will Anderson was lined up to Herbert’s left and he only had to beat tight end Charlie Kolar one-on-one to get home. Mitchell hauled in a 13-yard pass on second-and-24 and the third-down pass attempt was incomplete, leading to another punt after only going backwards.
After another forced punt by the Texans, the Chargers offense once again only went backwards, this time four yards the wrong direction, before sending the ball back to Houston.
Dell, who scored the Texans’ second touchdown of the game, actually botched the punt but somehow the ball ended up back in his hands despite multiple Chargers getting hands on during the play.
That unfortunate luck only went on to bite Los Angeles even more.
The Texans turned in a seven-play, 76-yard drive that took only 34 seconds and was capped with Stroud’s third touchdown pass of the game. This time, a 12-yard strike to receiver Kayshon Boutte.
Instead of coming out of the halftime break rejuvenated and reenergized, the Chargers offense turned in a quick five-play, seven-yard drive that was cut short by Herbert’s 11th-interception of the season. Herbert was looking for Quentin Johnston who ran a skinny post up the left seam but cornerback Derek Stingley closed on the pass and made an incredible over-the-back one-handed snag to take the ball away.
The Texans only increased their lead on their first drive of the season half, going 80 yards in 10 plays with Stroud finding Nico Collins from 13 yards out. That brought Houston’s lead to 31-9 about halfway through the third quarter.
Things only spiraled from here for the Chargers.
Down 22 points, the Chargers decided to go for it on fourth down at their own 41-yard line. Herbert was sacked before getting a pass attempt. After the defense forced a quick three-and-out and kept the Texans out of field goal range, the Chargers actually looked to get back into a rhythm on offense.
Staring down another fourth down (this a fourth-and-one), Herbert found wideout KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a gain of 50 yards to the Texans 30-yard line. However, two plays later, Keaton Mitchell had the ball punched out of his possession and the Texans recovered.
Stroud and the Houston offense turned that second takeaway of the game into another touchdown, going 89 yards in five plays with Boutte capping the drive with a massive 63-yard catch-and-run to put the Texans up by 29 points early in the final quarter.
Maybe in a game that was much less of a blowout this would be received as better news, but the Chargers finally broke their 37-drive streak without a 58-yard touchdown to Johnston who got between the safeties on a deep post. Herbert threw wide to Oronde Gadsden II in the flat on the two-point conversion attempt and the Bolts still faced a 23-point deficit.
The Texans tacked on three more points on their next drive to make it 41-15 and Herbert was finally benched midway through the quarter after taking eight total sacks. D.J. Uiagalelei replaced him and actually led one of the best drives of the game which ended in the Chargers’ second score of the night (and Uiagalelei’s first career TD) on a 15-yard pass to Derius Davis. The extra point was good and the Texans still led 41-22.
Houston replaced Stroud with backup Davis Mills who led the Texans to another field goal on his first drive of the game as they pushed their lead back to 22.
Uiagalelei led one more three-and-out drive before Mills knelt out the remaining clock and sealed the win for Houston.