A 4-1 start requires hurdling Chargers
If the Texans defeat the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, they will have an opportunity to get off to their best five-game start in Bill O’Brien’s six seasons as coach.
The Texans are 1-1 after losing by two points to New Orleans and defeating Jacksonville by one. They have a chance to post a 4-1 record for the first time under O’Brien, but they must first beat the Chargers at their temporary home, Dignity Health Sports Park with a capacity of 27,000.
If the Texans leave Carson, Calif., with an upset victory, they’ll be 2-1 with back-to-back home games against Carolina (0-2) and Atlanta (1-1) before they return to the road against Kansas City and Indianapolis.
The Texans have been 3-2 two times (2014, 2016) with O’Brien
as their coach. Last season, they started with a three-game losing streak, and they were 2-3 five weeks into the season. They finished 11-5, the second-best record in team history.
The Texans’ best start was under Gary Kubiak in 2012 when they were 5-0 on their way to a franchise-best 12-4 record.
The Texans have to take advantage of this early opportunity to help them establish superiority in the AFC South. It won’t be easy.
Last season, the Chargers were 12-4. They beat Baltimore in the wild-card round of the playoffs before being eliminated at New England.
The Chargers began this season with a 30-24 overtime victory at home over Indianapolis before losing 13-10 at Detroit.
Against the Lions, the Chargers had two touchdowns called back because of penalties, lost a fumble at the Detroit 1 and, with a chance to pull out a victory, quarterback Philip Rivers was intercepted in the end zone.
The odds are the Chargers won’t duplicate that awful offensive performance in consecutive games.
“They’ve got a great quarterback,” O’Brien said. “They’ve got a great head coach (Anthony Lynn), got some really good players on offense and defense. It’s going to be a challenge.”
Barring a playoff game, Sunday will be the Texans’ only appearance at Dignity Health Sports Park. The Chargers move into the Rams’ new stadium in 2020. They don’t have a legitimate home-field advantage.
The Texans were able to operate in the super-loud Superdome well enough to come within a 58-yard field goal of defeating the Saints. In that game, Deshaun Watson and the offense were terrific. In the victory over the Jaguars, the defense outplayed the offense. They need to excel on both sides of the ball if they’re going to defeat the Chargers.
“There’s a lot to work on,” O’Brien said. “I think any time you win and you have things to work on, that’s really good.
“That ( Jaguars) teamcame to play. We came to play. It was a hard-fought game, and we were very happy with being able to come out of there with a win and be 1-0 in the division. That’s big, (but) we need to turn the page and get going on the Chargers.”
Unlike the Chargers, the Texans are in good condition physically. Not only are the Chargers missing some players because of injuries, but running back Melvin Gordon continues to hold out because of a contract dispute.
Even without Gordon, the Chargers average 136 yards rushing and 5.7 per carry. They’re running almost as effectively as the Texans, who average 153 yards a game and 5.8 a carry.
No matter who’s in or out of the Chargers’ lineup, as long as Rivers is healthy, they’re capable of beating any team.
The last time the Texans played the Chargers, they lost 21-13 at NRG Stadium in 2016. Rivers threw three touchdown passes and compiled a 116.3 rating.
The Chargers’ defense won’t have it as easy going against Watson as it did in 2016 when Brock Osweiler threw three interceptions and finished with a 45.6 rating.
The Texans know the best way to beat the Chargers. If the defense limits them to fewer than 20 points, expect them to win. Since O’Brien became their coach, the Texans are 32-1 with 26 consecutive victories when opponents fail to score at least 20 points.