Los Angeles will face another disappointing team for the second week in a row as they continue to search for their first win of the season.
Here are a few reasons to be concerned that the Chargers will not be able to topple the Texans.
CJ Stroud's bounceback
Stroud finished last season 13th among qualifying quarterbacks in EPA/play, but the offseason was dominated by conversations about how poorly the Texans offense performed in comparison to their elite defense. That included questions about whether or not Stroud had earned a high-end extension - he ultimately did not sign an extension this offseason - and whether the Texans could field at least an average offense to try to replicate the Seahawks model from last season. Stroud has responded, leading a Texans offense that
is 13th in dropback EPA/play, up from 17th last season, and 13th in overall EPA/play, up from 22nd.
Fearsome pass rush
Texans pass rusher Will Anderson Jr. is tied for the league lead with 7.5 sacks this season, and his teammate Danielle Hunter is tied for 11th in the NFL in pressures with 30. Justin Herbert has been sacked the second-most of any quarterback this season at 23 takedowns (Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson has been sacked 33 times), 7 of which have also resulted in fumbles for the Chargers' face of the franchise. The offensive line will have to neutralize that pass rush without two of its Week 1 starters.
Turnover struggles
The Chargers lead the league with 17 turnovers this season, and until they can get through a game without a baffling Justin Herbert interception - of which he has now thrown 10 - turnovers will continue to appear in this section. Los Angeles' offense has been terrible in all facets: they rank last in points per game (14.1), last in EPA/play (-0.209), and last in success rate (39.5 percent) in addition to all of their turnovers. But you can also point to turnovers as dragging all of those stats down: they end drives before the Chargers can get points out of them; they're low-EPA plays; and a turnover is certainly not a successful play.
Jim Harbaugh vs. DeMeco Ryans
The Chargers under Harbaugh have struggled against this Houston regime, losing the infamous 2024 playoff game 32-12 and dropping a 20-16 home game in Week 17 last season as the teams jockeyed for playoff seeding. Even including games before Harbaugh was hired in LA, the Chargers have beaten Houston only once - a 34-24 win in Houston in 2022 - in their last five tries dating back to 2019. It's not a favorable matchup, especially with the Texans solving some of their issues despite a 2-5 start, while the Chargers continue searching for answers to their myriad problems.
This article originally appeared on Chargers Wire: 4 causes for concern for Chargers against the Texans in Week 9
