Andre Johnson's done so much for the Houston Texans over the years, meant everything, tried so hard ... that the way it ended, the manner in which another season slammed into a playoff brick wall seems almost beyond cruel.

Johnson — the greatest player in Texans' franchise history — had the ball in his hands, had the comeback win in his grasp ... and then he didn't.

No. 80 caught a crucial pass only to see it bounce off his knee and turn into an interception, only to see the San Diego Chargers gobble up the Texans last chance inside their own 30-yard line and hold on for a 29-23 victory. Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers did more than enough to win this game, but still, Johnson had to lose his grip in the final two minutes to make it happen.

"I accept responsibility for what happened," Johnson said afterwards, as stand up at his locker as ever. "What happened before (the catch that turned into an INT) didn't matter. We still had a chance to win the game ... until I didn't make the play."

It's ludicrous in so many ways for Johnson to heap it all on himself. But that's Andre, a man who understands the Texans history better than any other player in Gary Kubiak's locker room.

"I've got to make the play," Johnson said. "We've been in that situation before this season (scrambling to come back) and we've come through. You've got to make the play to win the game."

This one landed in Johnson's hands only to knock off of his knee and into a waiting Chargers' hands. Just one play after Houston quarterback Matt Schaub and tight end Joel Dreessen misconnected on a play that Dreessen said the two "could have done in our sleep."

"We had two chances right there," Dreessen insisted. "Not just Andre's. I don't feel bad for Andre because there's no way that's his fault."

So the Texans drop to 4-4 after a big drop, in a division where mediocre teams are not treated kindly. And certainly not sized up the playoffs.

As the 70,000 fans filed out of Reliant Stadium, they had to wonder if the Texans' playoff-less stretch had already all but officially stretched to nine straight seasons and counting.

Arian Foster ran for 127 yards and two touchdowns, produced 70 more receiving yards, including a big catch-and-sprint in the final three minutes. Yet Johnson, really all the Texans receivers, virtually went invisible. Through the game's first 55 minutes, Johnson had two catches, Jacoby Jones had two and Kevin Walter had none.

With Johnson still hobbled, there was no Randy Moss-impact player in sight, no one to help Matt Schaub make sense of his sometimes baffling season.

Rivers (17-for-23 for 295 yards and four touchdowns) didn't have his all-world tight end Antonio Gates. He almost didn't need him.

Not against this secondary.

The Texans received the start of any team's dreams. The high-powered Chargers got the ball first, inside their own 5-yard line, didn't get anywhere and saw Mike Scifres punt blocked by Stanford Kelgar. Houston started its first offensive series on San Diego's 8.

Foster ran in for an easy touchdown on the Texans' very first play. Four seconds, one drive, one touchdown.

Kubiak's team doesn't do anything easy though. Seyi Ajirotutu (four catches, 111 yards) soon got so far behind Texans cornerback Kareem Jackson that one of those kid leashes couldn't have kept him in range and Rivers rolled left and found him for the easiest 55-yard touchdown pass you'll ever see.

When it comes to rookies, it's much better to rely on a wide receiver than a defensive back in the NFL.

After San Diego went 80 yards in just six plays on its very next possession, with Rivers going 3-for-3, to take a 14-10 lead, it looked like one of those days for the Texans defense — a unit that knows all-too well about days like this.

With another season's playoff chances seemingly ready to float up and away right out of Reliant Stadium's open roof, the Texans turned to Foster, Foster and more Foster. They'd run him 11 times in the second quarter alone (four fewer carries than he had the whole game on that Monday night in Indy). He'd churn out 63 yards on the ground, turn a short slant over the middle into a first down on a crucial third-down, keeping the offense moving on a day when everyone knew the defense couldn't be expected to stop Rivers.

The Texans would score 13 straight points to take a 23-14 lead. Of course, with the Texans D, that type of advantage is about as significant as first quarter double-digit lead in an NBA game. Rivers made it 23-21 on another easy-as-can-be surgical slice up of the secondary, Kubiak elected to go for it on fourth-and-one from San Diego's 17 rather than take the field goal, he decided to run Foster in the short-yardage situation, chose to do just what he was criticized for not doing on Monday night. And watched Foster get stuffed ... short.

This only marked the start of the small-yardage misery.

The Texans' first drive down 29-23 ended with a surprise sneak, with the desperate team trying to catch their opponent off guard, with quarterback Matt Schaub futilely reaching for a first down.

Schaub wouldn't get there on fourth-and-one and the Texans chances of reaching the playoffs seem to be growing shorter like the days.