HOUSTON —
Rex Burkhead rushed for 149 yards, a career high, and two touchdowns and the Houston Texans took advantage of three turnovers to beat the Los Angeles Chargers 41-29 on Sunday, in a duel in which both teams did not have more than a dozen players by COVID-19 protocols.
The Chargers’ playoff aspirations took a severe hit in a loss to mediocre Texans, who have recently improved. Linebacker Joey Bosa, running back Austin Ekeler, catcher Mike Williams and center Corey Linsley were some of the top players on the COVID-19 roster for Los Angeles (8-7), which started the day in second place in the Western Division of the American Conference.
Houston (4-11) had 16 players on the coronavirus roster – including catcher Brandin Cooks, center Justin Britt, defensive end Jonathan Greenard and kicker Ka’imi Fiarbairn – but managed to win consecutive games for the first time this season. . The Texans defeated Jacksonville last week.
Burkhead ran for a 25-yard touchdown and a one-yard touchdown for the Texans, who came into the game last in rushing yards and had 189 rushing yards, the most for the team on the season. Davis Mills threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns.
For the Chargers, Justin Herbert passed for 336 yards, a touchdown when the game was decided and two interceptions. Justin Jackson rushed for 64 yards and two touchdowns, plus 98 receiving yards for Ekeler.