Texans Advance After Stomping the Browns 45-14

Texans quarterback CJ Stroud and the Texans defense put on a show in Houston defeating the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Wild Card Round 45-14 advancing into the Divisional Round. Stroud made history as he became the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game. Cleveland had a great season, but quarterback Joe Flacco’s two costly interceptions are what turned the tide of this game around. Now, if the Bills win on Monday afternoon the Texans will go on the road to face the Baltimore Ravens, but if the Steelers win, Houston will go to Buffalo to play the Bills. Let’s look at how this young, up-and-coming Texans team stomped the Browns in their first playoff series at home in over four years.

Both teams came out and punted the ball on their first possession. Cleveland punted a second time, while the Texans would get on the board first when kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn knocked down a 21-yard field goal. It took just six plays and three minutes and 20 seconds for the Browns to march down the field and take the lead. Cleveland’s running back Kareem Hunt ran up the middle one yard for the touchdown, while kicker Riley Patterson nailed in the extra point. Houston in four plays and nearly two minutes would score again, this time, Stroud threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to receiver Nico Collins. Fairbairn would make the extra point to make this a 10-7 ballgame. Three minutes into the second quarter, Browns quarterback Joe Flacco would find Kareem Hunt for an 11-yard touchdown pass. Patterson made the extra point to give Cleveland a 14-10 lead. On Houston’s next drive, it took just one play and 18 seconds for CJ Stroud to find tight end Brevin Jordan for a 76-yard touchdown pass. With Fairbairn kicking in the extra point, the Texans would once again take the lead. About a minute and change before halftime, Stroud threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to tight end Dalton Schultz. Houston would lead 24-14 going into the second half.

This game would become out of reach for the Browns after two costly interceptions by Joe Flacco. The first one would come with about six minutes left in the third quarter, Texans cornerback Steven Nelson ran 82 yards for the touchdown, and with Fairbairn successfully making the extra point this gave Houston a 31-14 lead. The second interception came with four minutes remaining in the third. Texans’ linebacker Christian Harris ran 36 yards for Houston’s second defensive touchdown of the day. Now, Houston held on to a 38-14 lead with one quarter left to play. A minute and a half into the fourth quarter, the Texans would score their final touchdown of the game as running back Devin Singletary ran 19 yards for the touchdown. As much as Cleveland has played pretty well all season long, this effort against the Texans was stunning. The Browns have had five different starting quarterbacks throughout this regular season, and to pull out 11 wins is impressive, but this Wild Card matchup can only be motivation for next season for this Cleveland team. 

Texans quarterback CJ Stroud went a ridiculous 16 for 21 flinging 274 passing yards and three touchdowns. Houston’s running back Devin Singletary ran the ball 13 times for 66 yards and a touchdown. Texans’ wide receiver Nico Collins had six receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown. Browns quarterback Joe Flacco went 34 for 46 with 307 passing yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. Cleveland’s running back Kareem Hunt had eight carries for 26 yards and a touchdown, while tight end David Njoku had seven receptions for 93 yards.