Chargers vs. Houston Texans matchups, commence time and how to view

Breaking down how the Chargers (1-2) and the Houston Texans (-2-1) match up heading into their game at 10 a.m. PDT on Sunday at NRG Stadium in Houston. The activity will be shown on CBS and streamed on Paramount+ and NFL+.

When Chargers have the ball: For an offense that features Professional Bowl gamers and fantasy favorites aplenty, a rookie sixth-round draft choose will be a person of the most important focuses Sunday. Jamaree Salyer is established to make his to start with NFL begin, at remaining deal with in place of the injured Rashawn Slater. Salyer will be accountable for serving to shield Justin Herbert and his fractured rib cartilage as nicely as supplying some a lot-essential room for the managing backs. The Chargers have the league’s worst rushing attack, averaging 59 yards per sport and 2.6 yards per carry. By three weeks, they have zero touchdowns on the floor. The encouraging news is Houston is the NFL’s worst group at halting the run, surrendering an average of 202 yards. Past week, the Texans gave up 157 to a Chicago Bears jogging back named Khalil Herbert, which has to be some form of fantastic karma for a Chargers workforce that includes Khalil Mack and Justin Herbert, right? Mentor Brandon Staley cited the requires for “more physicality” and “rhythm” when conversing about advancement alongside the offensive line. “I sense like we just have not established that chemistry up front nevertheless,” he stated. “That’s a significant element of what is protecting against us from staying as fantastic as we can be.”

When Texans have the ball: As substantially as the offense struggled to score just a single touchdown final 7 days versus Jacksonville, the Chargers’ defense wilted in the next fifty percent as the Jaguars pulled absent for a 38-10 victory. That general performance experienced minimal to do with Herbert’s sore ribs, over and above the truth the defense had to participate in additional snaps as the offense was failing to sustain more than enough drives. “There have been a ton of speedy turnarounds out there,” defensive coordinator Renaldo Hill said. “Once we got into the second 50 %, the touchdowns came, and I feel that was in all probability the accumulation of the reps we received in the first half.” The Chargers seemed overmatched at times versus Trevor Lawrence, the NFL’s No. 1 over-all select in 2021. On Sunday, they’ll encounter a quarterback taken 66 picks after Lawrence in Davis Mills. In 16 video games, Mills has only two victories, but a person of these arrived towards the Chargers last time. Mills finished 21 of 27 for 254 yards and two touchdowns, his 130.6 score continue to the 2nd finest of his vocation. “He’s a high quality participant,” Staley claimed. “I felt that way previous year. He performed pretty well versus us ... you can see that he’s giving them a prospect every Sunday.”

When they kick: The Chargers’ Dustin Hopkins has experienced a somewhat routine, silent start off to the season, hitting a few of 4 discipline-objective makes an attempt and all 7 of his further details. Previous UCLA Bruin Ka’imi Fairbairn is in his seventh time with Houston. He’s fantastic to open up the 12 months: 7 of 7 on subject objectives and four of 4 on further points.

Jeff Miller’s prediction: Soon after the Chargers dropped by 4 touchdowns at residence to Jacksonville, the strategy of them getting favorites on the street from any NFL team seemed a tiny odd. It still does, frankly. There is not a lot question which of these groups is additional proficient, but can the Chargers stay clear of taking part in down to the degree of their opponents? Properly ...

TEXANS 23, CHARGERS 17