The Texans shined in Southern California the way great performers are supposed to. In a season that has seen more than its fair share of missed opportunities and frustrating moments, Houston put together an exhilarating, reenergizing lopsided win to once again get their season moving in the right direction.
No one will throw a parade over this one, but it was much needed after a 2-5 start that saw four games slip away in the final possession. At the end of the day, there were more than enough positives to use as key indicators that this season might finally be turning around.
It was 10-9, Texans when you might have started to think this would be another tilt that comes down the wire and you would perhaps not have liked the end of the movie.
But Tank Dell's 63-yard TD reception brought extra juice to the sideline. Once he crossed the goal line you got the feeling that there was no way the Texans would lose this one.
Dell wasn't alone in the stats and memory-making department. Kayshon Boutte had his best day ever with 125 receiving yards and two TDs. Xavier Hutchinson scored, as did Nico Collins, on a high degree-of-difficulty catch. Sheldon Rankins sacked Justin Herbert twice, as did Will Anderson Jr.
A total of eight sacks were registered, tying a team high. Plus, the Texans defense, hungry for takeaways, got two turnovers.
Having said all this, the man of the hour was C.J. Stroud, who threw for a career-high-tying five TD passes. Stroud threw early and often and showed how and why he's one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
This game was the last house on the left for the Chargers and the 44 points put up by Houston were 14 points more than the previous high against them.
Now comes a tough challenge at Cleveland in an attempt to run the record within a game of .500. It'll be Stroud vs. Deshaun Watson and the drama will be thick.
The most important thing is that the Texans keep winning. There are still a lot of great possibilities ahead but they can't afford to slip up now.
