HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Texans became the fifth team since 1990 to reach the playoffs after opening the season 0-3 and the first team to do it twice with their win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Saturday.
The Texans (11-5) extended their winning streak to eight games with the 20-16 victory to join their 2018 team, the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Lions, and 1998 Bills as the only teams since 1990 to lose their first three games and advance to the playoffs.
It’s Houston’s third straight trip to the playoffs, which is a franchise record and coach DeMeco Ryans and quarterback C.J. Stroud are the fourth coach/QB duo in NFL history to advance to the postseason in each of their first three seasons.
Their current position is one that seemed farfetched on Nov. 9 when they were 3-5 and trailed the Jaguars by 19 points entering the fourth quarter while playing without Stroud, who was sidelined recovering from a concussion.
Instead of packing it in, the Texans rallied for a 36-29 victory that day to start their winning streak in a game Ryans called “the turning point for our entire season.”
“For us to be down as far as we were in that game and to have our backup Davis Mills to have such a clutch performance to get us into a position to win that game. I feel like that’s the game that flipped our season,” Ryans said. “And it just showed us that no matter what we’re up against, no matter who’s on the field, if we stay together, stay connected, we can overcome anything.”
On Saturday, Stroud gave Houston a huge early lead when he threw a 75-yard TD pass to rookie Jayden Higgins on the team’s first drive before connecting with fellow rookie Jaylin Noel for a 43-yard score on the second one.
“Both rookies stepping up, making extremely big plays for us to really give us that fast start, get us going with some excellent momentum,” Ryans said. “Those really were two plays that helped us to be in the position we were in.”
Stroud is thrilled to be heading to the playoffs again and appreciates this trip even more because of the rough start.
“It wasn’t great at first, but as we kept going, I think for me, my gratitude was going to another level because technically we weren’t supposed to be here,” he said.
Stroud got things going on Saturday, but it was the top-ranked defense that again secured the win. The Texans lead the NFL in points (16.6) and yards (272.4) allowed per game. They’re giving up 177.6 yards passing and 94.8 yards rushing per game to make them the second team in the past five seasons to allow fewer than 200 yards passing and fewer than 100 yards rushing per game.
The Texans sacked Justin Herbert five times Saturday for their third game this season with at least five sacks. That’s tied for second most such games in franchise history.
Azeez Al-Shaair stopped the Chargers from scoring in the second quarter when he grabbed an interception at the 1-yard line. It was Houston’s 18th interception this season, which ranks fourth in the NFL.
Stroud will need to take better care of the ball as the playoffs approach after he threw two interceptions in the second quarter Saturday. It was the first time he’d thrown two interceptions in a game this season since a Week 3 loss to Jacksonville where he was also picked off twice.
DE Derek Barnett had two sacks Saturday for his fourth career game with at least two sacks and the first since 2020. Barnett, who has been getting more playing time in recent weeks because of injuries, also had two quarterback hits against the Chargers.
RB Nick Chubb, who opened the season as the team’s starter with Joe Mixon out, gained just 1 yard on his only carry Saturday. The eight-year veteran has rushed for just 37 yards combined in his past three games as the Texans have used former practice squad player Jawhar Jordan to back up Woody Marks.
OTs Trent Brown (knee) and Aireontae Ersery (thumb) missed Saturday’s game with injuries but could return this week.
Stroud, the second overall pick in the 2023 draft, got his 27th career win Saturday to pass Peyton Manning (26) and tie John Elway for second-most wins by a quarterback selected first or second overall through their first three seasons in the Super Bowl era.
Stroud joined Drew Brees and J.P Losman as the only players since 2000 to have touchdown passes of at least 40 yards on both of their team’s first two drives.
Higgins and Noel, who were college teammates at Iowa State, became the second rookie duo in league history and first since 1938 to each have TD receptions of 40 yards or longer in the same game.
The Texans need a victory over the Colts and a loss by the AFC South-leading Jaguars (12-4) to the last-place Titans Sunday to win the division for a third straight season. A victory would tie the longest winning streak in franchise history set in 2018.
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Houston Texans wide receiver Jayden Higgins (81) runs to score a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Wally Skalij)
Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans watches from the sideline during the first half of an NFL football game against the Las Vegas Raiders, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith)
PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Donald Trump warned Iran against reconstituting its nuclear program Monday as he welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his home in Florida for wide-ranging talks.
The warning comes after Trump has insisted that Tehran's nuclear capabilities were “completely and fully obliterated” by U.S. strikes on key nuclear enrichment sites in June. But Israeli officials have been quoted in local media expressing concern about Iran rebuilding its supply of long-range missiles capable of striking Israel.
“Now I hear that Iran is trying to build up again,” Trump told reporters soon after Netanyahu arrived at his Mar-a-Lago estate. “And if they are, we’re going to have to knock them down. We'll knock them down. We'll knock the hell out of them. But hopefully that’s not happening.”
Iran has insisted that it is no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country, trying to signal to the West that it remains open to potential negotiations over its atomic program. But Netanyahu was expected to discuss with Trump the need to potentially take new military action against Tehran just months after launching a 12-day war on Iran.
Trump criticized Iran anew for not making a deal to completely disarm its nuclear program ahead of the U.S. and Israeli strikes earlier this year.
“They wish they made that deal,” Trump said.
Netanyahu's visit also comes at another critical moment in Gaza as Trump looks to create fresh momentum for the U.S.-brokered Israel-Hamas ceasefire that is in danger of stalling before reaching the complicated second phase of the agreement.
Trump, with Netanyahu by his side, said he wants to get to the second phase “as quickly as we can.”
“But there has to be a disarming of Hamas,” Trump added.
Before his talks with Trump, Netanyahu met separately with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that Trump championed has mostly held, but progress has slowed recently. Both sides accuse each other of violations, and divisions have emerged among the U.S., Israel and Arab countries about the path forward.
The truce's first phase began in October, days after the two-year anniversary of the initial Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people. All but one of the 251 hostages taken then have been released, alive or dead.
The Israeli leader has signaled he is in no rush to move forward with the next phase as long as the remains of Ran Gvili are still in Gaza.
Gvili’s parents met with Netanyahu as well as Rubio, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in Florida on Monday. The Gvilis are expected to meet with Trump later in the day, according to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group that advocates for families of abductees of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
“They’re waiting for their son to come home," Trump said of the family of the young police officer known affectionately as “Rani,”
The family, according to the group, is looking “to ensure there will be no transition to Phase 2 of the agreement until Hamas fulfills its Phase 1 commitments and returns Ran home.”
Trump’s 20-point plan — which was approved by the U.N. Security Council — lays out an ambitious vision for ending Hamas’ rule of Gaza.
The path ahead is certainly complicated.
If successful, the second phase would see the rebuilding of a demilitarized Gaza under international supervision by a group chaired by Trump and known as the Board of Peace. The Palestinians would form a “technocratic, apolitical” committee to run daily affairs in Gaza, under Board of Peace supervision.
It further calls for normalized relations between Israel and the Arab world and a possible pathway to Palestinian independence. Then there are thorny logistical and humanitarian questions, including rebuilding war-ravaged Gaza, disarming Hamas and creating a security apparatus called the International Stabilization Force.
The Board of Peace would oversee Gaza’s reconstruction under a two-year, renewable U.N. mandate. Its members had been expected to be named by the end of the year, but the announcement could be pushed into next month.
The leaders' meeting comes after Witkoff and Kushner recently huddled in Florida with officials from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey, which have been mediating the ceasefire.
Two main challenges have complicated moving to the second phase, according to an official who was briefed on those meetings. Israeli officials have been taking a lot of time to vet and approve members of the Palestinian technocratic committee from a list given to them by the mediators, and Israel continues its military strikes.
Trump’s plan also calls for the stabilization force, proposed as a multinational body, to maintain security. But it, too, has yet to be formed. Whether details will be forthcoming after Monday's meeting is unclear.
A Western diplomat said there is a “huge gulf” between the U.S.-Israeli understanding of the force's mandate and that of other major countries in the region, as well as European governments.
All spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that haven't been made public.
The U.S. and Israel want the force to have a “commanding role” in security duties, including disarming Hamas and other militant groups. But countries being courted to contribute troops fear that mandate will make it an “occupation force,” the diplomat said.
Hamas has said it is ready to discuss “freezing or storing” its arsenal of weapons but insists it has a right to armed resistance as long as Israel occupies Palestinian territory. One U.S. official said a potential plan might be to offer cash incentives in exchange for weapons, echoing a “buyback” program Witkoff has previously floated.
Trump also renewed his call on Israeli President Isaac Herzog to grant Netanyahu, who is in the midst of a corruption trial, a pardon.
Netanyahu is the only sitting prime minister in Israeli history to stand trial, after being charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases accusing him of exchanging favors with wealthy political supporters.
Trump has previously written to Herzog to urge a pardon and advocated for one during his October speech before the Knesset.
“He’s a wartime prime minister who’s a hero. How do you not give a pardon?" Trump said.
Associated Press writers Darlene Superville in Washington and Lee Keath and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump greets Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump speaks before a luncheon with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his Mar-a-Lago club, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listens as President Donald Trump speaks before a luncheon at his Mar-a-Lago club, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are seated before a luncheon at his Mar-a-Lago club, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump listens as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an arrival at his Mar-a-Lago club, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump speaks during a NORAD, North American Aerospace Defense Command, Tracks Santa Operation call at his Mar-a-Lago club, Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint press conference after a trilateral meeting with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Citadel of David Hotel in Jerusalem, Monday Dec. 22, 2025. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP)
Amal Matar, 65, sits next to the oven as she cooks for her family in the Al-Shati camp, northern Gaza Strip, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Palestinian youth walk along a tent camp for displaced people as the sun sets in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Friday, Dec. 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
