ClutchPoints
While it initially looked like the Houston Texans would blow out the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 17, the game came down to a controversial penalty on the final drive of the game. Fans at SoFi Stadium hated the call, but former NFL referee Walt Anderson believes it was the right one.
The play in question came on a 3rd-and-9 for the Texans, who led 20-16 with 2:30 remaining. The Chargers sacked C.J. Stroud to seemingly force a punt, but Los Angeles cornerback Tarheeb Still was flagged for illegal contact to keep the game-ending drive alive.
Fans hated that the nail-biting game came down to a penalty, but Anderson justified the flag.
“Illegal contact is a very unique foul to the National Football League,” Anderson said on ‘NFL Gameday.’ “Receivers, once you go five yards, defensive players have got to let them freely run their route. You can check them once within five yards, but after five yards, you gotta let them go. What happened on this play is when Christian Kirk got past five yards, No. 29, Tarheeb Still, slid over into his path. If you slide over into the path of the receiver [and make contact] beyond that five yards, that is illegal contact.”
When asked about the contact between Chargers cornerback Donte Jackson and Texans receiver Xavier Hutchinson on the same play, Anderson explained the difference between the two situations.
“If you look at [Donte Jackson], he’s retreating. He owns that territory. The defender is entitled to that space as long as he doesn’t go into the receiver. On the inside route, you can see Still goes into Kirk; he slides over into his path. That’s the difference between those two actions.”
Walt Anderson breaks down the reasoning behind the 3rd down call that shocked us all yesterday pic.twitter.com/wkrSH2i5wC
— NFL GameDay (@NFLGameDay) December 28, 2025
Los Angeles had exhausted its timeouts at the time of the penalty, essentially making it a game-ending call. Texans running back Woody Marks secured another first down a couple of plays later to officially ice the game.
The Texans clinched the playoffs with the win, which was their eighth consecutive. The result subsequently eliminated the Chargers from AFC West contention, allowing the Denver Broncos to clinch the division.
The post What Walt Anderson said about controversial call that helped Texans beat Chargers appeared first on ClutchPoints.
