The Worksheet, a comprehensive fantasy football preview by Rich Hribar, breaks down everything you need to know about the Texans vs. Chargers Week 9 matchup.
Find a breakdown of every Week 9 NFL game in our Worksheet Hub.
| Houston | Rank | @ | LA Chargers | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| -4.5 | Spread | 4.5 | ||
| 22.5 | Implied Total | 18.0 | ||
| 23.6 | 12 | Points/Gm | 14.1 | 32 |
| 24.3 | 18 | Points All./Gm | 25.0 | 20 |
| 61.4 | 19 | Plays/Gm | 61.4 | 19 |
| 63.7 | 21 | Opp. Plays/Gm | 60.0 | 10 |
| 5.5 | 10 | Off. Yards/Play | 4.7 | 30 |
| 5.4 | 19 | Def. Yards/Play | 5.4 | 20 |
| 38.8% | 26 | Rush% | 45.1% | 11 |
| 61.2% | 7 | Pass% | 54.9% | 22 |
| 40.1% | 9 | Opp. Rush % | 50.5% | 31 |
| 59.9% | 24 | Opp. Pass % | 49.5% | 2 |
- The Chargers are a league-worst 0-6-1 against the spread.
- Houston is 2-5 against the spread, 30th in the league.
- Chargers home games are 3-0 to the under this season, the highest rate.
- Houston has allowed 51 pass plays of 15 or more yards (31st) and 29 pass plays of 20-plus yards (30th).
- Houston has allowed 6 points off turnovers this season, 2nd in the league.
- The Texans have scored 13 points off takeaways, 31st in the league.
- The Chargers have allowed a league-high 57 points off turnovers this season.
- The Chargers are averaging a league-worst 1.21 points per drive.
- The Chargers have not scored a touchdown on 27 consecutive possessions.
- The Chargers have allowed a league-low 22.2% conversion rate on third downs (10 of 45) over their past four games.
Trust = spike production for that player
Texans vs. Chargers Fantasy Quarterback Preview
C.J. Stroud
Stroud hit the bye week with a limited performance against a surprisingly tough Giants defense.
Stroud threw for a season-low 153 passing yards and 5.5 yards per pass attempt.
That said, he threw multiple passing touchdowns and salvaged a QB14 week (16.5 points).
Stroud has finished in the top half of weekly scoring in six of seven weeks this season.
We have picked our spots for spike from him, but this is a matchup where he is more of a floor-based QB2.
The Chargers have never recovered offensively, but their pass defense has held up.
They are fourth in passing points allowed per game (11.2), forcing opponents to throw underneath against deeper coverages.
Quarterbacks are averaging 6.5 air yards per pass attempt against the Chargers (6th lowest).
They have allowed one QB1 week this season (with a high of QB10) while facing Josh Allen (QB19), Patrick Mahomes (QB23), and Matthew Stafford (QB21) in their sample.
Another reason they aren't giving up fantasy points is that they are a bad real football team.
Opponents are treating them as a massive run funnel.
They only face 28.0 pass attempts per game (2nd).
Just two quarterbacks have completed 20 passes against them this season, and just one of the past six.
Teams are throwing 2.5% below expectations against the Chargers (28th), but what is crazy is that the expected dropback rate against them is only 55.1%.
Justin Herbert
The Chargers did not have any surprises on offense for us coming out of the bye.
If you want to latch onto anything that resembled improvement, Herbert did complete a season-high 75% of his passes (24 of 32) for a season-high 8.0 yards per pass attempt.
But he did not throw a touchdown, and he threw 2 more interceptions.
Both seemed predetermined, with him not even looking at defenders and just throwing to what he believed was an open receiver.
Herbert has yet to throw multiple touchdown passes in a game this season, while he has thrown an interception in every game.
Herbert has thrown a league-high 8 interceptions from a clean pocket.
He has not finished higher than QB22 in weekly scoring this season.
If you do have to use Herbert as a QB2 filling a starting spot, the Houston pass defense has been the Justin Herbert of pass defenses this year.
It is almost nonsensical how they keep giving up huge gains through the air.
The Texans have allowed a 66.3% completion rate (25th), 7.5 yards per pass attempt (23rd), and 11.3 yards per completion (22nd).
They have allowed the most explosive pass plays in the league.
J.J. McCarthy averaged 9.5 air yards per attempt against them in Week 7, third in the league.
He went 7 for 12 (58.3%) for 196 yards (16.3 Y/A) on throws of 10 or more yards downfield.
Texans vs. Chargers Fantasy Running Back Preview
To continue reading this article
select one of the packages below
All-Access: Unlocks all fantasy content & Warren Sharp's betting recommendations for 2026.
– 2026 Record: 224-168 (57%) +14.41 Units –
– Best Bet of the Week: 21-6 (78%) Lifetime –
– Computer Totals Last 6 Years: 149-68 (69%) –
Fantasy Packages: Unlocks all of Rich Hribar's industry-leading fantasy content for 2026.
– The Worksheet: Fantasy Preview of Every Game, Every Week of the Fantasy Season –
– Weekly Fantasy Rankings –
– Weekly DFS Picks & Analysis –
More Week 9 Fantasy Breakdowns From The Worksheet:
| Week 9 NFL Games | Time |
|---|---|
| Jaguars @ Ravens | Thursday Night Football |
| Bengals vs. Falcons | Sunday -- 9:30 a.m. ET |
| Jets @ Chiefs | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Cowboys @ Colts | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Lions @ Dolphins | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Browns @ Saints | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Giants @ Eagles | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Rams @ Commanders | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Broncos @ Panthers | Sunday -- 1 p.m. ET |
| Texans @ Chargers | Sunday -- 4:05 p.m. ET |
| Packers @ Patriots | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Raiders @ 49ers | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Cardinals @ Seahawks | Sunday -- 4:25 p.m. ET |
| Buccaneers @ Bears | Sunday Night Football |
| Bills @ Vikings | Monday Night Football |