C.J. Stroud barely practiced all week. He woke up on game day with chills and feeling lousy, unsure what was wrong with him. Then the Houston Texans quarterback went out and delivered his version of Michael Jordan’s flu game, throwing five touchdown passes as the Texans rout Chargers 44-22 on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Stroud completed 21 of 35 passes for 384 yards with one interception, tying his career high in touchdown passes and coming up one short of the Texans’ franchise record of six. Houston gained a season-best 485 yards of total offense, and the Texans’ defense added eight sacks in a win that was never close after halftime.
“I don’t know what I had, but was not feeling good,” Stroud said after the game.
Stroud turns illness into a five-touchdown night
The Texans scored on their opening drive, with Stroud hitting Xavier Hutchinson for a 17-yard touchdown on third down. It set the tone for an afternoon in which Stroud spread the ball to four different receivers for scores.
Tank Dell hauled in a 63-yard touchdown in stride in the second quarter. Kayshon Boutte caught a 12-yarder before halftime and added a second 63-yard score in the fourth quarter. Nico Collins pulled in a 13-yard touchdown in the third quarter, and by the time Boutte’s second score landed with 14:12 left to play, Houston led 38-9.
Stroud smiled when the Jordan comparison came up afterward. Jordan famously scored 38 points for the Chicago Bulls in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals while battling flu-like symptoms. Stroud’s version was just as effective: five touchdowns, one interception, and a road win that keeps Houston’s season moving in the right direction.
His lone mistake came in the first quarter, when a pass was tipped and intercepted. It was only his second interception of the season. After that, he was nearly flawless, and six of his passes went for gains of 20 yards or more.
Dell’s return, Boutte’s breakout
The most encouraging sight of the day for Houston may not have been Stroud at all. Dell finished with four catches for 105 yards and the 63-yard touchdown in only his second game back after spending 22 months recovering from the serious knee injury he suffered in 2024. He looked every bit like the receiver who was becoming one of the league’s most dangerous deep threats before the injury.
Boutte was just as productive, finishing with four catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Collins added the one-handed grab for his score, pinning the ball against his defender to secure the catch.
Houston (3-5) has now won three of its last four games after starting the season 0-4. The revival is real, and the offense finally looks like the unit the Texans expected when the season began. For more on Sunday’s other big NFL results, see our recaps of the Cowboys beat Colts 27-23 and the Packers beat Patriots 45-27.
What the Texans rout Chargers 44-22 means for both teams
For Los Angeles, the numbers are grim. The Chargers (0-8) have lost eight straight to open the season, the worst start in franchise history. They ended a 37-drive touchdown drought — the second-longest in NFL history — only in the fourth quarter, when Quentin Johnston caught Justin Herbert’s 58-yard scoring pass.
Herbert completed 13 of 23 passes for 193 yards and a touchdown, but he has now been sacked 31 times this season, and the boos cascaded down from the upper levels of SoFi Stadium, where the Chargers have not won since last December. Los Angeles was also without top wide receiver Ladd McConkey, who had back spasms in pregame warmups and did not play.
The Texans’ defense was relentless, and the Chargers’ offensive line had no answers. Houston’s eight sacks were a season high, and the pressure never let Herbert settle.
Analysis: Houston’s season has turned a corner
This is the part of the season where a slow start either becomes the story or gets forgotten. Three wins in four games, a season-best day on offense, and a quarterback playing through illness to produce the best passing performance of his season — that is a team finding its identity.
The schedule does not get easier, and the Texans still sit below .500 at 3-5. But the pieces are falling into place: Dell is back and healthy, Boutte is emerging as a second deep threat, and the defense is generating pressure in waves. If Stroud keeps playing like this, Houston’s 0-4 start will be a footnote rather than a defining chapter.
For the Chargers, the questions are harder. An 0-8 start with a franchise quarterback taking this many hits is a crisis, not a slump. The trade deadline arrives on Tuesday, and the front office has real decisions to make about a roster that is not competing.
What to watch next
The Texans visit the Cleveland Browns next Sunday, a chance to climb back toward .500 against a team that has struggled to score. The Chargers visit the Baltimore Ravens, where they will face former Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
Injury notes from Sunday: Texans cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. was hurt late in the game. For the Chargers, cornerback Isas Waxter left in the first quarter with an ankle injury and did not return, while defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe hurt his ankle in the first quarter but returned.
The weekend’s other big result came in college football, where Notre Dame beats Miami 31-24 to end the Hurricanes’ perfect season.
Sources: Associated Press via TSN; Reuters; NBC Sports
