Winners

1) Houston Texans defense: The Chargers had the 11th-ranked scoring offense in the regular season, and had scored at least 34 points in each of their last three games. They were unrecognizable against the Texans, though. Justin Herbert was intercepted four times — he threw three in the entire regular season — including a pick-six late in third quarter that all but iced the game. But the tone was set right from the start. In the first half, Herbert was held to 8 completions in 20 attempts, the running game was limited to 2.9 yards per rush and the Texans stuffed the Chargers twice deep in Houston territory early, when the Chargers could have run away with the game. With C.J. Stroud under siege and holding the ball too long early, the defense kept the Texans close, giving Stroud time to find his groove late in the second quarter.

2) The Texans’ reputation: Consigned again to the early Saturday timeslot, the Texans had become something of a punchline last week as the team nobody believed in and nobody was particularly excited about. The win should serve as a reminder: with DeMeco Ryans and Stroud, the Texans have advanced to the Divisional Round for the second straight season — they were underdogs in both wild-card games. Perhaps it’s time to stop underestimating the Texans in the playoffs.

3) The Chargers: Really: It’s hard to see now, but even appearing in the wild-card game was a win for the Chargers, who won five games last season and finished at the bottom of the AFC West. Jim Harbaugh is a turnaround artist, but the Chargers are at least a year ahead of schedule, with a transformed culture and a bright future. The playoff loss will sting, but if they made this much progress with just one offseason, imagine what could happen with another. Hint: In Harbaugh’s second season in San Francisco, the 49ers went to the Super Bowl.