The 2024 NFL playoffs started with a pair of lopsided scores. On Saturday, the “underdog” Houston Texans overcame a slow start to post a commanding 32-12 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. For the nightcap, the Baltimore Ravens recorded a 28-14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers that wasn’t even as close as the final score would seem to indicate. 

Houston’s win was obviously the surprise outcome on Saturday, with many expecting Justin Herbert to finally get his first playoff win. Baltimore’s win was much less of a surprise, although the way they manhandled the Steelers in the first half was jarring. Both looked impressive and should be forces to be reckoned with in next week’s divisional round. Conversely, the Chargers and Steelers head into the offseason following early playoff exits. 

Here’s what we learned from each of the four teams that played on Saturday. 

Texans

As noted above, many people had counted Houston out following its late-season losses to the Chiefs and Ravens. Those doubts appeared to be justified on Saturday after Houston’s extremely slow start to Saturday’s game. 

But if we learned anything about the Texans moving forward, it’s that you don’t want to let them hang around, especially if you have a chance to put them away early. The Chargers had a chance to put the Texans away early, but they failed to after settling for field goals and not capitalizing on an interception of C.J. Stroud early in the second quarter. 

Houston’s defense played a role in Los Angeles’ inability to pull away early, specifically its pass rush, led by Will Anderson Jr. and Mario Edwards Jr. Fittingly, the game’s biggest play might have been Eric Murray’s pick six of Herbert that gave the home team a 20-6 lead going into the fourth quarter. 

Defense led the way, but Stroud did his part by throwing for 282 yards on 22 of 33 passing. Nico Collins came through with 122 yards on seven catches, while Joe Mixon had his first 100-yard game in over a month. 

Do the Texans have a chance to win on the road next week? I wouldn’t bank on it, but as Saturday showed, you don’t want to let Stroud and the Texans hang around. 

Chargers 

In retrospect, the Chargers may have gotten too much credit going into this game by virtue of their 7-3 start to the season. Conversely, the Texans’ 31-2 loss to the Ravens in Week 17 likely created an incorrect narrative regarding their postseason prospects. 

The Texans, after all, had won a playoff game last year and are clearly building something. The Chargers were coming off of a 5-12 season, so just making the playoffs this year was a success for Chargers first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh. It’s safe to say that Houston’s recent playoff experience played a factor in Saturday’s outcome. 

Obviously, the most surprising part of the Chargers’ loss was Herbert’s four interceptions. Herbert had thrown just three all year, after all, and the Chargers offense as a whole committed just nine turnovers all year. It’s safe to say that some of Herbert’s mistakes on Saturday were the result of Houston’s pass rush and as well as the lack of a running game. 

Herbert is an exceptional quarterback, but the Chargers put too much of this game on his shoulders. With J.K. Dobbins (who recently returned from injured reserve) and Gus Edwards combining to run for just 50 yards on 18 carries, the game pretty much rested on Herbert’s shoulders. It didn’t help that Herbert’s No. 2 receiver, Quentin Johnston, did not catch any of his five targets. Herbert did get a big game from rookie Ladd McConkey, who appears to be a star in the making. 

Sure, losing a game you expected to win hurts, and that’s probably how much Chargers fans felt going into Saturday’s game. Adding insult to injury is the fact that Herbert is now 0-2 in the playoffs. But Saturday’s loss shouldn’t erase what was a positive year for the Chargers, who took significant strides during Harbaugh’s first season in Los Angeles. 

Ravens 

If Saturday night’s game was a boxing match, the refs would have stopped the proceedings at halftime, or maybe even earlier than that. The Ravens led 21-0 at halftime after outgaining the Steelers 306-59. Derrick Henry had 100 rushing yards rushing int the first half, while Baltimore’s defense allowed just two first downs in the game’s first 30 minutes. 

Taking care of the ball and playing sound defense were two themes during Baltimore’s four-game winning streak to close out the regular season. That was again the case on Saturday night. The Ravens didn’t turn the ball over, and their defense, which struggled at times during the season’s first 13 games, was lights out when it needed to be, especially in the secondary. 

Lamar Jackson, who was just 2-4 in the playoffs entering Saturday night, looked like his typical MVP self against Pittsburgh. He ran a slew of read options while having his most rushing attempts in a game since Week 1. Jackson’s running opened up everything else, including Henry, whose 186 yards on the ground was the most against a Pittsburgh team in the postseason. 

Henry’s presence has allowed Jackson to play looser, which should allow him to avoid the mistakes that ultimately doomed him and the Ravens in previous postseasons. It should be noted that Jackson’s success came without No. 1 Zay Flowers, who missed Saturday’s game with a knee injury. 

Steelers

Saturday night just confirmed what most of us had realized about the Steelers during their losing streak. Pittsburgh’s 8-2 start was largely the result of a top-heavy schedule. The Steelers were not a real contender, and until they figure out their quarterback situation, they will continue to be on the outside looking in. 

Russell Wilson had his moments during his first season in Pittsburgh. But after a while it became apparent that his famous moon balls were the only thing he had in his arsenal. If Wilson couldn’t hit on his deep passes, he was forced to settle for safe checkdowns to running back Jaylen Warren and tight end Pat Freiermuth. That is not a recipe for success, especially against good teams. 

Beyond the quarterback situation, the Steelers seem to have cultural and philosophical issues. The Steelers invest a ton into their defense but had one of the least expensive offensives in football. That may have worked in the 1970s or even in the early 2000s, but that doesn’t work in today’s game. The Steelers need to invest more in the offense moving forward. 

Speaking of the defense, that side of the ball was even worse than the offensive side on Saturday night. At times, it appeared that defenders had absolutely no interest trying to tackle Henry. This came after weeks of bickering from defensive players who were saying that some teammates were not doing their jobs. 

That goes to the culture issue. There seems to be something off in Pittsburgh. After Saturday’s loss, Prime’s Taylor Rooks reported that Najee Harris (who likely played his last game for the Steelers), said that the outside noise from the media had infiltrated the locker room and that he was interested to see how that impacted the team entering the playoffs. 

There’s a lot of things wrong with that sentence, but it is a microcosm of the issues that permeate a proud franchise that has gone eight years without a playoff win, a drought that will continue unless major changes are made.