The Houston Texans made the most of their California road trip on Sunday afternoon by blasting the hosting Los Angeles Chargers to the tune of a 44-22 romp. In a game that was close for all of one (ish) quarter of play, the Texans sent the home team spiraling to an 0-8 record with a combination of air raid proficiency, timely runs, multiple forced turnovers and the team's second-best defensive performance of the season (not counting the "garbage time" minutes found late in the fourth quarter).
In the midst of Houston's magnificent walloping of Los Angeles on Sunday, there were several immediate notables for a variety of players throughout the contest (and coaches, too).
Here are seven of Houston's immediate notables from Sunday's dismantling of the Chargers in SoFi Stadium.
Seven immediate notables from the Houston Texans' 44-22 thrashing of the Los Angeles Chargers
"Tampa Bay" Stroud made his return to the NFL against the Chargers
In week nine of the 2023 season, C.J. Stroud lit up the visiting Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a career-high of 470 passing yards, five touchdowns and a 147.8 passer rating in a 39-37 come-from-behind thriller of a victory. It was the game that officially stamped Stroud as being that "next man up" when it came to best young signal callers in the NFL.
Against the Chargers on Sunday, "Tampa Bay" Stroud made his return to the league with a vengeance, cooking Los Angeles' top-10 secondary with the second-best statistical performance of his career (of course, the Tamp Bay game being the best). In the contest, he went ballistic for 384 passing yards, five touchdowns, 20 rushing yards and a 125.5 passer rating. He's definitely playing the best football of his career at the moment.
Tank Dell had his first 100-yard game in two years
Making his triumphant return to the field in week seven against the New York Giants, Tank Dell officially made his comeback complete with his first 100-yard game in two years against the Chargers. He accumulated four receptions for 105 yards and one touchdown with a 26.3 yards per reception average. In only his second full game back, Dell has already reminded the NFL world how significant his loss has been over the last two seasons for Houston.
Kayshon Boutte had his best game as a Texan with a two-touchdown performance
Ahead of week nine, former New England Patriots wide receiver Kayshon Boutte hadn't really had a
welcome to the Texans" kind of performance through his first seven games. That ended with a bang on Sunday in SoFi Stadium, as he went off against the Chargers to the tune of a team-high 125 receiving yards and two touchdown catches on four receptions. If Boutte has been unlocked at last, then that makes Houston's passing attack that much more prolific.
Nico Collins possibly had the "catch of the year" in the third quarter against the Chargers
Already leading 24-9 in the third quarter, wide receiver Nico Collins probably hauled in what could become the "catch of the year" against the Chargers' secondary. Being absolutely smothered by Los Angeles cornerback Tarheeb Still in the end zone, Stroud managed to fit a ball into only one of the gloves of Collins as he was contorting his body around Still with falling to the turf. Catching the pass with his aforementioned one hand and rolling after contact, the referee signal confirmed Collins' breathtaking catch to give Houston the 31-9 lead.
Derek Stingley Jr. inches closer to franchise history with his interception on Sunday
In what was a truly a baffling development heading into week nine against Los Angeles, Houston's two-time FIrst-Team All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. had yet to snag a single interception through seven previous contests. That all changed against the reeling offense of the Chargers though, as Stingley picked off a deep pass attempt by Herbert in the third quarter to give him the 16th of his career. That tied him with a franchise legend in former safety Kareem Jackson for second-most in team history (16), and only one behind former cornerback Johnathan Joseph for the most (17).
Texans' pass rushers make team history in eight-sack day against the Chargers
As a whole, Houston's pass rushing unit accounted for eight sacks of Herbert throughout the team's 44-22 drubbing of Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. History was achieved specifically by Will Anderson, Sheldon Rankins and Jadeveon Clowney within that mark, with each being responsible for two sacks. That was the first time in Texans' history that three defensive teammates had that many sacks each in a game.
Has Nick Caley finally been vindicated as an NFL play caller?
In true "we don't listen to the outside noise" fashion, head coach DeMeco Ryans made it a point to emphatically give offensive coordinator Nick Caley a much-deserved game ball after his offense's dominant performance against the Chargers (along with a dramatic "everybody thinks they can call plays" speech beforehand). It came after Caley helped engineer a game plan that led to 485 total yards of offense, which was the most total yardage by his unit in his two seasons as an NFL play caller.
While questions still remain about the long-term viability of Caley as an ascending offensive mind in the league, he at least has shown an ability to continuously make the adjustments necessary to help his team be better in various capacities on a fairly frequent basis.
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