HOUSTON — Coach DeMeco Ryans said his defense “dominated” against the Los Angeles Chargers as the unit carried the Houston Texans to a 32-12 wild-card win.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert finished the regular season with only three interceptions, but the Texans intercepted him a career-high four times, returning one for a touchdown.

“Our defense, they dominated today,” Ryans said. “That’s who we want to be. They played our brand of football. They stopped the run first. That’s what I’m most proud of is how we stop the run. And when we stop the run, you make a team one-dimensional, and that’s when our defensive line just causes havoc.”

The Texans became the fifth team to record four interceptions, an interception return for a touchdown and four sacks in a playoff game since sacks were first tracked in 1963, according to ESPN Research.

The last three teams to accomplish that feat in the playoffs were the 2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2000 Baltimore Ravens and 1989 San Francisco 49ers, who all went on to win the Super Bowl.

“Just playing together, playing complementary football,” defensive end Will Anderson said. “Rush and cover, tying in together. We were just being tight with our rush. They were sticky in coverage, and we were just able to make some plays, get some turnovers and take the ball away.”

Herbert was the first player in NFL history with at least 200 pass attempts to have more interceptions in a playoff game than in the regular season. The Texans pressured Herbert on 50% of his dropbacks as he went 3-for-14 for 112 yards with one touchdown and an interception under duress, according to Next Gen Stats.

The pressure from defensive end Derek Barnett with 21 seconds left in the third quarter led to the biggest play of the afternoon. It forced Herbert’s throw to wideout Ladd McConkey to sail, and safety Eric Murray intercepted the pass and returned it for a touchdown to put Houston up 20-6.

“Just trying to be patient,” Murray told ESPN. “Take away the deep throw and make him throw short. That’s what you want to do. Make him throw short. You either hit him or the ball goes through his hands and ends up yours.”

To close the game out in the fourth quarter, All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley intercepted Herbert on a short and deep pass.

The defense allowed a field goal on the Chargers’ first two drives then stiffened up to buy the Texans’ offense time as it struggled for the first five possessions — producing three punts, an interception and a lost fumble. Their sixth possession, which started on the 1-yard line, ended in the end zone and was sparked by an improbable play.

After gaining one first down, the Texans faced a 3-and-16 with 2:24 remaining in the first half trailing 6-0. Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud fumbled the snap before rolling right and firing a dart to wideout Xavier Hutchinson for a 34-yard completion. The Texans’ drive ended with a Stroud 13-yard touchdown pass to wideout Nico Collins to put the Texans up 7-6.

“The play that he made on the fumbled snap and throw to Hutchinson, that’s the play that just sparked our entire team,” Ryans said. “Seeing the way all of our guys responded after he made the play….Just outstanding performance by C.J.”

Stroud said he was “mad” at himself for even dropping the snap but saw the jolt it provided his team, and he got hyped afterwards.

“I’m trying to see the defense, and it went through my hands,” Stroud said. “Luckily it bounced right back up to me. I tried to save the play. [Hutchinson] did a good job. After we made the completion, I looked at the sidelines, everybody was turned up. So that turned me up because I was still kind of mad at myself. But yeah, those are the types of plays that change momentum.”

The Texans went on a 32-6 run following the highlight play. Stroud finished the day 22-of-33 for 282 yards with a touchdown and an interception. But he had a staggering difference in production after the improbable completion as he was 9-of-16 for 83 yards with an interception prior to that play but went 13-for-17 for 199 yards with a touchdown afterward.

The quarterback-coach pairing of Stroud and Ryans became the third duo to win a playoff game in their first two seasons, joining Rex Ryan-Mark Sanchez and John Harbaugh-Joe Flacco.