Coach Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers go on the road to Houston to take on the Texans in the Wild Card round.
Houston finished the season at 10-7 and winners of the AFC South. The Texans went 2-2 since the bye week and scored 21 combined points in losses to Baltimore and Kansas City. The Texans are down two of their top receiving weapons for this game, but CJ Stroud has two playoff games under his belt from last year.
Los Angeles was dealt its fate in the regular season finale as the runner-up to the Chiefs in the AFC West. The Chargers finished 10-7 under first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh and won three straight to end the season over Denver, New England, and Las Vegas.
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Game Details and How to watch the Houston Texans vs. Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday
· Date: Saturday, January 11, 2024
· Time: 4:30 PM EST
· Site: NRG Stadium
· City: Houston, TX
· TV/Streaming: CBS / Paramount+
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Game odds for Texans vs. Chargers
The latest odds as of Monday courtesy of DraftKings:
Moneyline: Los Angeles Chargers (-162), Houston Texans (+136)
Spread: Chargers -2.5 (-120)
Total: 42.5
The spread opened at Chargers -3 with a total of 44.5, so money has come in on the Under and the Texans as a home underdog.
NBC Sports Bet Best Bet
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) likes buying Houston back to the +3:
“The Texans beat the breaks off the Browns 45-14 in last year’s Wild Card game and Stroud’s debut. However, they lost 34-10 to Baltimore in the next round. Those two games are valuable against a Chargers team led by a rookie head coach.
While Harbaugh won a National Championship with the Michigan Wolverines last season, I don’t think that experience translates to a road Wild Card game in the NFL.
Houston will be down Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell, I do believe CJ Stroud, Joe Mixon and the rest of the offense will be enough. Nico Collins will be the primary pass weapon, but John Metchie is a big-play waiting to happen, plus Robert Woods and Dalton Schultz are reliable and hungry veterans.
The Chargers have succeeded in the turnover battle this season with the third-best per-game differential (+0.7), but Houston was tied-sixth (+0.6). Factor in the road wins for the Chargers — Raiders, Patriots, Falcons, Browns, and Panthers — I like Houston to keep this close, so give me the home dog at +3 for -125 odds.”
Houston Texans vs. Los Angeles Chargers team stats, betting trends
- Los Angeles is an NFL-best 12-5 ATS.
- Houston is 7-8-2 ATS and 0-2 on the ML as a home underdog.
- The Chargers are 5-1 ATS as a road favorite and 5-1 on the ML.
- The Texans are 1-5 ATS as an underdog.
- As the home team, Houston is 3-4-1 ATS and 1-1 ATS as a home underdog.
- As the road team, Los Angeles is 7-2 ATS, ranking tied for second-best.
- Justin Herbert has 23 touchdowns to three interceptions on the season with two of the three picks coming in the past four games.
- JK Dobbins finished the season with 905 rushing yards and nine touchdowns, both career-highs.
- Ladd McConkey recorded 87 or more yards in three straight games.
- CJ Stroud has an impressive 14 touchdowns to three interceptions in wins this season and six touchdowns to nine interceptions in losses.
- Joe Mixon posted 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns in his debut season with Houston.
Quarterback matchup for Los Angeles vs. Houston
Houston: CJ Stroud – Stroud finished his sophomore campaign with 20 passing touchdowns to 12 interceptions. Stroud threw for 3,727 yards and a 63.2% completion percentage. Stroud finished with 10 touchdowns to six interceptions on the road and at home this season.
Los Angeles: Justin Herbert – Herbert finished with one of the best TD-to-INT ratios in the league at 23-to-3 this season. He finished top 10 in passing yards (3,870) and completion percentage (65.9%). Herbert tossed two of his three interceptions over the past four games.
Chargers and Texans injury update
Houston’s WR Stefon Diggs (knee) and Tank Dell (knee) are both on IR, while WR John Metchie (head) is questionable.
Los Angeles’ WR Joshua Palmer (foot), LB Denzel Perryman (groin), and RB Gus Edwards (ankle) are listed as questionable.
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