A lot of plays happen between the first whistle of a game and the very last, but most games can be summed up by just a handful of moments. Big, momentum-swinging, pivotal moments for either team, and sometimes games go simply the way of which team can stand up to those moments the best.

During the Chargers’ 32-12 wildcard loss to the Texans, Jim Harbaugh and his team failed to meet several of them. On an early third-and-1 on their opening drive, the Bolts lined up and ran off right tackle but it was stuffed as Joe Alt was blown back into the rushing lane. Instead of running up the middle with a QB Sneak or behind their big fullback, they chose to target the edge, the strength of the Texans defense.

On second-and-19 at the Texans 31-yard line after their first takeaway, Herbert hit tight end Will Dissly in the hands for what would have been an easy conversion. Instead, the ball bounced off his hands and the Bolts kicked another field goal.

Early in the second quarter, Deane Leonard picked off an errant pass by C.J. Stroud inside Texans territory. On the very next play, Herbert rolled to his right looking for a receiver. Instead of ditching the ball out of bounds or dirting it, he turned back across the field — while running — and launched a pass to a streaking Quentin Johnston who was running the opposite direction. It was picked by cornerback Kamari Lassiter.

On the Texans’ first touchdown drive of the game — a 99-yarder at the end of the second quarter — Houston nearly threw away the drive when a fumbled errant snap was somehow turned into a 34-yard completion by Stroud. From there all momentum seemed to swing hard in favor of the Texans and it quite honestly never let up.

I’ll stop there, but don’t think that the blunder total stopped at four

In all, Herbert threw four interceptions, one more than he threw during the entirety of the 2024 regular season. One of the three was certainly not his fault and the final one was essentially a desperation heave with the game out of reach, but that stat sheet total will not provide context on its own. Even before all the picks, when the Chargers were leading the turnover battle three to one, they were still losing 10-6. Obviously not good enough in a postseason bout.

The lack of capitalization during their biggest moments ultimately led to the Texans snowballing the Bolts throughout the second half as they outscored LA 22-7.

It was not the ending that Chargers fans wanted, or deserved, but this is what happens in the professional game. Sometimes you get rolled and sometimes you do the rolling. The Chargers just happened to get their worst when their best was needed.

On to the offseason.

For a complete quarter-by-quarter recap of today’s game, check it out below.

First Quarter

The Texans won the coin toss and chose to defer. The Chargers offense was up first.

Justin Herbert and the offense marched down the field with relative ease thanks to some chunk-running by J.K. Dobbins and an efficient intermediate passing attack. The Chargers ultimately had third-and-one at the Houston 14-yard line, but rookie right tackle Joe Alt was blown back at the point of attack which erased the run lane for Dobbins. The play ended in a two-yard loss which forced a 35-yard kick from Cameron Dicker which was successful. The Bolts led 3-0 early with just under 10 minutes left in the period.

On the first play of the Texans’ ensuing drive, wide receiver John Metchie was stripped by Alohi Gilman and the football was recovered by Derwin James at the Houston 33-yard line. Just like that, the Bolts were back in business inside enemy territory.

Gus Edwards began the drive with an eight-yard fun followed by another short run to convert the first down. On the next play, left guard Zion Johnson missed his assignment on the play-action pass which allowed Will Anderson Jr. to sack Herbert for a nine-yard loss. The Chargers could not overcome the second-and-19 deficit and Dicker was once again good from 39 yards to increase their lead to 6-0.

The Chargers defense continued their strong start by forcing the Texans into a three-and-out on their second drive of the game. On a third-down incompletion to Metchie, linebacker Daiyan Henley nearly picked off the pass after Joey Bosa forced Stroud to scramble from the pocket.

Thanks to a Texans player running into Derius Davis on the punt, the Chargers were gifted an additional 15 yards which moved them from the 12 to the 27-yard line.

The offensive line struggled with protecting Herbert on their next drive as the Houston defensive line continued to utilize stunts to manufacture easy pressure. Los Angeles would be forced punt for the first time. Despite a Texans defender getting a hand on the ball, the punt continued to roll after a short hop all the way to the Texans 28-yard line.

Stroud got the ball moving with short gains to tight end Dalton Schultz and Robert Woods. Joey Bosa sacked Stroud on a second-and-10 before tackling Joe Mixon short of the first down on third-and-15.

Second Quarter

After the Texans pinned the Chargers back at their own eight-yard line, Herbert found McConkey for back-to-back first-down catches. They then stalled after Quenton Johnston dropped a pass on third down, albeit two yards short of the sticks on third-and-four. Still, the Bolts managed to flip the field, pinning the Texans back at their on 12-yard line.

Three plays in, Stroud attempted to throw a deep pass up the left sideline (or tried to throw it away?) and it landed squarely in the hands of cornerback Deane Leonard for another Chargers takeaway.

Unfortunately, Herbert decided to throw what may be the most ill-advised pass of his career as he rolled to his right, turned back without stopping his momentum, and launched a deep pass to Johnston who was running a deep crosser the opposite direction. Unsurprisingly, the ball was short of its mark and cornerback Kamari Lassiter picked it off to take it right back.

Both offenses continued to struggle after trading turnovers. Each team punted after short drives and the Texans found themselves at their own one-yard line. Within the shadow of their own goal post, the Texans managed to drive 99 yards all the way down the field, culminating in a Nico Collins touchdown.

The Texans likely should have punted deep in their own territory, but Stroud turned a botched snap into a 34-yard gain to Xavier Hutchinson thanks to a broken coverage by the Chargers.

With 58 seconds in the half, the Bolts trailed 7-6.

After attempting three deep passes — all incomplete — on the next drive, the Chargers punted.

With only 27 seconds on the clock and the ball at their own 32-yard line, the Texans drove all the way to the Chargers 23 thanks to a massive 27-yard scramble right up the middle of the defense. Houston tacked on a field goal to make the score 10-6 as both teams headed to the locker rooms.

Third Quarter

The Texans struck like lightning out the halftime break as Nico Collins took a catch-and-run 41 yards to the Chargers 24-yard line. But once again, the LA defense came up with their third takeaway, this time a fumble recovery by safety Tony Jefferson.

The Chargers turned it into a five-play, 40-yard drive that once again ended in zero points as the Bolts rolled the dice on fourth-and-two but failed when Johnston dropped a ball well short of the sticks.

Houston capitalize on the turnover on downs by notching another field goal to put them up 13-6 with 4:48 left in the third period.

Just before the end of the quarter, Herbert threw high on a pass to Ladd McConkey in the left flat and the ball was picked off and returned for a touchdown by safety Eric Murray. The score pushed the lead to two touchdowns at 20-6.

Fourth Quarter

Three plays into the final quarter, Herbert fired a pass to tight end Will Dissly in the right flat but the ball bounced off of his hands and right into the arms of cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. who returned it 54 yards the other direction.

With the ball at the Los Angeles 13-yard line, the Chargers defense held and forced a 30-yard field goal from Ka’imi Fairbairn to push their score to 23-6.

This game got really crazy over the next half dozen plays.

After back-to-back sacks on Herbert by Will Anderson and Mario Edwards, Herbert stepped up in the pocket on third-and-26 and ripped a bullet to Ladd McConkey over the middle of the defense who took it all the way to the house for an 86-yard touchdown.

Then, on the PAT, Dicker’s kick was blocked up into the air. Instead of catching the ball and ending the play, Dicker batted the ball into the arms of a Texans defender who returned it for a two-point defensive touchdown. So after all the madness, the Texans led 25-12 and the Bolts essentially scored a four-point touchdown.

The Texans began their final drive with 10:33 remaining on the clock. They drained just under seven minutes off of it with a 14-play, 74-yard drive that ended in a Joe Mixon touchdown to extend Houston’s lead to 32-12.

Herbert threw his fourth interception on an overthrow to D.J. Chark five plays into their next drive. The Texans would go on to drain the remainder of the clock to ice their 32-12 victory.