HOUSTON -- With 21 seconds left in the third quarter of the AFC wild-card matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans on Saturday, 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 inverted Cover 2 with an alignment that looked like a Cover 3 with a single high safety.
Once Herbert got the snap, he was pressured and sailed his throw high over McConkey into the waiting arms of safety Eric Murray, who hovered over McConkey pre-snap in the slot before dashing to his flat zone.
Murray returned it for a touchdown to put Houston up by 14 en route to a 32-12 win and trip to the AFC divisional round.
This was a rare position for Murray -- who typically plays as a deep safety. On this play, he was in the area corners usually occupy in a standard Cover 2. It's a spot where he had played 15 snaps in the regular season.
"It just put me in a different light," Murray told ESPN. " ... Make him throw short. You either hit [the receiver] or the ball goes through his hands and ends up yours."
The defense intercepted Herbert four times -- a career high for the quarterback -- Saturday. He threw an NFL-low three interceptions total during the regular season.
"Rush and cover, tying in together. We were just being tight with our rush," defensive end Will Anderson said of the rout of the Chargers. "They were sticky in coverage, and we were just able to make some plays, get some turnovers and take the ball away."
It was the highlight of a playcalling masterclass by Ryans and another 2024 game where the second-year head coach's game plan handed a Pro Bowl quarterback a career-worst day.
During the regular season, the Texans' defense ranked sixth in yards allowed per game (315) and 14th in points allowed (21.9). The unit forced Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen into his lowest completion percentage ever (30%) in Week 5, forced the Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa into a career-high four turnovers (three interceptions and a lost fumble) in Week 15, and intercepted the Detroit Lions' Jared Goff a career-high five times in Week 10.
"It is about being focused for four quarters," Ryans said of the preparation process. "Locked in on your assignment and then allowing your God-given abilities to take over and make the plays that you are supposed to make."
Houston had Super Bowl expectations entering the season and started 6-2. But after the team 4-5 down the stretch, some wondered whether those dreams were realistic. Still, the Texans captured the AFC South and advanced to the divisional round for the second straight season under Ryans.
The Texans will attempt to reach the AFC Championship Game for the first time in franchise history, but two-time MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes and a Kansas City team that's been to the Super Bowl four times in the past five seasons will be waiting for them Saturday (4:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+). The Texans are 0-2 against the Chiefs in the playoffs.
"We're excited about the opportunity we have," Ryans said. "We understand what's in front of us. Great team, [Kansas City] has done a great job for the past few years of really dominating the league, being there at the end."
THE FORMER ALL-PRO linebacker who starred for Houston from 2006 to 2011 has been in this position before as a player. Ryans was a part of the first Texans team to win the AFC South and win a playoff game in 2011. That squad defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the wild-card matchup before losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional round.
That was Ryans' last season in Houston, and the team has yet to escape the divisional round (0-5). Through two seasons, his two playoff wins is tied for the most by a Houston coach, and he has the highest winning percentage (.588) in the franchise after going 10-7 for a second straight season.
He doesn't want his players to make this game bigger than what it is, but they are facing a Chiefs team that knows how to get to the AFC Championship Game, having done it six straight seasons.
"[They have a] great coaching staff, great players, great team, all the way across the board," Ryans said. "So it's a really tough challenge for us."
The Texans lost to the Chiefs, 27-19, in Week 16. Mahomes threw for 260 yards and had a passing and a rushing touchdown, and Houston allowed its fourth-highest scoring output (27).
Ryans won't "take much" from their first matchup against the Chiefs because it was a "different circumstance." Even though he'll lean on defensive coordinator Matt Burke and the rest of the staff to game-plan, he'll make the final call on how the Texans defend them. Each member of the defensive coaching staff is individually responsible for zeroing in on how to scheme against a specific part of the opposing offense.
"Everybody has an input," Ryans told ESPN. "I listen to everyone's input, and at the end of the day, it is my job to make the calls, put the guys where they need to be. But I also listen to everybody. Every coach has a specific area for a game plan."
AHEAD OF WEEK 15, Ryans incorporated something new that would highlight rookie safety Calen Bullock's ball-hawking skills against the Dolphins. Through 14 weeks, Bullock was tied for the most interceptions (4) among NFL rookies. Ryans had a way for him to get another.
Ryans knew Tagovailoa and Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel wanted to attack the middle of the field. When the Dolphins played the New York Jets the previous week, Ryans noticed a play-action pass with wideout Tyreek Hill running a crossing route and tight end Jonnu Smith running a drag route.
The Jets were in Cover 3, and Tagovailoa hit Hill on the route for a 17-yard completion in front of the safety. So Ryans wanted to use more coverages that allowed Bullock to hover over the middle to "free him up to go steal some of those routes," according to Burke.
With 25 seconds left in the second quarter against Miami, McDaniel called the same play-action play he did against the Jets. Ryans countered by deploying Bullock, who's usually the deep field safety, using an inverted Cover 2 alignment. Bullock hovered in the middle of the intermediate field, jumped in front of Hill, intercepted Tagovailoa and sprinted down the field until he was brought down at Miami's 5-yard line. Houston capitalized with a field goal before the half.
"He put me in positions where he knows I'm comfortable at -- to help the defense by taking the ball away," Bullock told ESPN. "That was the plan the whole week. Let me hover over the middle and just let me go play ball. On my pick, we knew Tua would look away, but once he threw the ball, he really doesn't look where he's throwing it at, so he wouldn't see me the whole time."
It was Bullock's fifth interception, but he hasn't been the only defensive back benefiting from Ryans' game plans. Throughout the year, Ryans used cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., who was named first-team All-Pro last week, to limit several star receivers. Stingley was assigned to cover Hill, the Dallas Cowboys' CeeDee Lamb and Chicago Bears' DJ Moore. And all of his interceptions (five) in the regular season came against those players.
"There's been a couple games where he said go [shadow]," Stingley told ESPN. "Those types of situations just give me confidence to go out there and make sure that I do what I gotta do."
Saturday against the Chargers, Stingley added two more interceptions to his résumé. The first came on the possession after Murray's pick-six. Ryans called a disguised fire-zone blitz and dropped defensive end Denico Autry into coverage.
Herbert rushed his throw to tight end Will Dissly, and Stingley was in coverage -- expecting a quick throw to beat the blitz. Once the cornerback saw Herbert go into a throwing motion, he sat, and once the pass bounced off Dissly's hands, Stingley snagged it.
THE CONFIDENCE POINT Stingley mentioned is something linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair praises about Ryans. When the second-year coach challenges his players, he makes sure to hype them up too.
"More than anything that he does schematically for us as players is [give us] confidence," Al-Shaair told ESPN. "You want to know how you win games? Obviously, the execution, but the belief in yourself. He never lets us lose the fact that we are exactly who we think we are. We are big dogs, we are in the league, and we are great players who make great plays."
Against the Bills, the Texans pressured Allen on 45% of his dropbacks -- forcing him to go 1-of-14 for 24 yards in those spots. Al-Shaair was tasked with the role of spy to try to slow Allen's running ability, and he responded with a team-high 8 tackles, 3 pass deflections and 2 quarterback hits.
The defense knew Allen preferred to go to his right, as his 160 scramble rollouts to the right is the second most since 2018, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
"[Ryans] was just telling me, 'Hey man, when this dude scrambles, he's going to scramble out to his right," Al-Shaair said. "The line just did their own stunts. And when I saw him, I went and got him."
To get over the hump against the defending Super Bowl champs, the Texans will need their defense to make franchise history. It's a tall task against another Pro Bowl quarterback, but defensive end Danielle Hunter knows Ryans will have them ready.
"We always step up to the challenge. We like when something's hard," Hunter told ESPN. "We all want to compete."