Texans Knew What to Expect Early vs. Chargers Defense

The Texans won their 8th straight game on Saturday, beating the 11-4 Chargers 20-16. They did it by jumping out to a quick 14-0 lead and then letting their top-ranked defense do its thing.

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Those 14 points came via 75 and 43-yard touchdown passes in C.J. Stroud’s first 4 attempts. Clearly, the Texans had a good feel for what they’d be seeing from the Chargers defense out of the gate. According to Stroud:

“They play really a solid shell defense. And kinda like the way the league is going on defense, […] they’re playing 2-high shell. They’re trying to take away your best guy. So we kind of knew that and […] designed some good plays just to pick on that.”

The first play was a 3rd-and-1 on Houston’s opening drive. The Texans would start in a 1x3 formation with 3 receivers to the left and a tight end in-line to the right. Then they motioned Christian Kirk across the formation to create a 2x2:

As the Texans expected, the Chargers would play a 2-shell coverage (quarters):

Notice how every defender was within 7 yards of the line of scrimmage at the time of the snap due to the down and distance:

Each of those defenders would be aggressive and lock onto their receivers earlier in their routes because they were expecting a quick throw on 3rd-and-1.

The play Houston had dialed up was designed specifically to beat quarters coverage. To the right, both receivers would release vertically before breaking inside at about 5 yards. That occupied the safety and cornerback to that side:

The inside receiver to the left (Nico Collins) would make a b-line right for safety Elijah Molden before breaking in. That occupied Molden as well: