The 2-5 Houston Texans have a pivotal game on the horizon in Week 9, as they'll be taking a West Coast road trip to face the 0-7 Los Angeles Chargers.

Really, it's a pivotal game for both sides. A loss for Houston here would tank them to a 2-6 record on the year, a record that only three teams in NFL history have been able to come back from for a postseason appearance.

A loss for the Chargers means that they fall to a dreary 0-8 on the year. And with only a few days away from the trade deadline, there might be some big moves to consider for this roster in order to better prepare for a key offseason in 2027.

So how can the Texans bounce back from their latest loss to the New York Giants and keep hopes alive for a late push to the playoffs?

Let's take a look at three of the Texans' biggest keys to the game as they head on the road to face the Chargers:

Get Nico Collins Involved More

The last time the Texans' offense took the field in Week 7 vs. the Giants, we saw Nico Collins held down to one of his worst performances in recent memory. His two receptions for six yards rank as the second-lowest receiving total of his career.

That result simply can't be the case again this week for Houston. The Texans' offensive staff needs to get Collins back to being deemed an alpha, WR1 on a weekly basis, and getting him a chance to execute on at least a half-dozen targets.

The Chargers have done a pretty good job of limiting Collins in their past matchups, considering he averages just five targets per game for over 73 yards. But Collins has also been able to log some explosive performances against this defense as well.

In Houston's Wild Card matchup back in 2025, Collins finished with seven receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown; his best playoff performance to date, and one of just seven times in his career where he's posted over 120 receiving yards and a touchdown in the same game.

If the Texans can find their way to a similar statline for Collins this weekend, it's hard to imagine this Chargers offense having the horses to keep up with that Houston scoring production.

Take Advantage of the Turnover Battle

Among the Chargers' weaknesses on the offensive side of the ball, one of their most dreadful has been just how reckless the unit has been when it comes to ball security and limiting turnovers.

It's often said that NFL games are defined by the turnover battle. And that's certainly been the case for the Chargers many times this season. Los Angeles has lost the turnover battle in five of their first seven games through the 2026 campaign.

So for a Texans defense that has the ball-hawking talent in the secondary and a pair of ferocious contributors off the edge, getting multiple takeaways can be an easy way to get a defining leg up on Los Angeles.

The Texans haven't been a defense that has racked up as many turnovers as they put together over the course of their 2025 season. They've accumulated just six total giveaways over the first seven weeks, a number that was sitting at 11 through the first seven weeks of last year.

But this game, on paper, seems like one where the Texans can take ahold of a "get right game," and hopefully provide some much-needed momentum within the takeaways category heading into the second half of the regular season.

Lean on the Dominant Pass Rush

Another area in which the Chargers' offense has struggled in their first seven games of the season: limiting sacks on Justin Herbert.

Herbert is currently tied with the second-most sacks in the NFL with 23 as part of the Chargers' winless start. He's been hit with at least three sacks in five of his first seven games.

Being without starting right tackle Rashawn Slater––and for a two-game stretch, starting left tackle Joe Alt––certainly hasn't helped their case, but it's clear that this offensive line has been underproducing through the first half of the regular season.

And this week, they'll be up against one of their toughest matchups of the season thus far, with Texans' star duo Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter off the edge. So it's hard to imagine things start to look a whole lot better for the Chargers and their pass protection in Week 9.

The one name I'll be keeping an eye on is none other than Will Anderson. After Anderson got off to a roaring start through the first five games by recording a league-leading 7.5 sacks on the year, he's been held to zero sacks over the past two weeks.

If Anderson can get back on track as the Defensive Player of the Year favorite, many were talking him up to be a couple of weeks ago. It’ll be a long day for the Chargers' offense, which has been the case already for multiple games throughout the season.