All year long, DeMeco Ryans' Houston Texans were a picture of inconsistency and rhythmless football. At times, they looked like a classic AFC South division champion. They were a team qualifying for the NFL's postseason by default,

As Houston prepares for its divisional round matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, Ryans has his defense playing at its best.

The Texans suffocated the Chargers on Wild Card Weekend and took a few shots at some of their haters from earlier in the week.

DeMeco Ryans was very pleased with the outcome of yesterday’s playoff victory. Despite being viewed as home underdogs in most sports books, the Texans put forth a dominating defensive effort that included forcing Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert into throwing four interceptions.

Between stout defensive work and C.J. Stroud’s good-as-ever play under center, the Texans took home a 32-12 AFC wild-card win over the Chargers.

Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw four interceptions ... led by quarterback C.J. Stroud and head coach DeMeco Ryans. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

When DeMeco Ryans became coach of the Houston Texans before last season, the two-time Pro Bowl linebacker brought his swarm defense with him.

The first five Texans possessions of Saturday's game against the Chargers ended with two turnovers and three punts, but the team remained in the game thanks to the work of their defense.

Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans discusses his team's wild card playoff victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert scanned the Texans' defense and sent receiver Ladd McConkey in motion to the slot on the left side. Leading by a touchdown, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans called an ...

The Texans’ defense tallied four interceptions (two by cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.) and four sacks while holding the Chargers to 3-of-11 on third-down attempts. Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw three interceptions in the entire regular season.

Going into the Texans playoff game, there was an emphasis on the need to create extra possessions against the Chargers. Houston did exactly that. Between creating havoc in the pass rush and forcing Justin Herbert into many poor throws, the Texans defense simply would not be denied on Saturday.