The Houston Texans clearly beat the Cleveland Browns 45:14 at the start of the NFL playoffs on Super Wild Card Weekend. Quarterback CJ Stroud excelled and immediately set a rookie record.
Browns @ Texans: At a glance
- After the initial shootout, the Texans offense remained hot and very efficient, while at some point the Browns offense was no longer able to find the initially gaping holes, which meant the home team pulled away at halftime.
- The guests were then given the rest by two picks-sixes from Joe Flacco in two consecutive drives in the third quarter.
- With this defeat, Flacco is a sad novelty that came at the wrong time.
Browns @ Texans: The Analysis
After a slow start, the Texans opened with a field goal. After that, things got wild. After a 45-yard pass from Joe Flacco to tight end David Njoku on a seam route, running back Kareem Hunt found the end zone a little later on the ground. However, the home team immediately hit back with an impressive drive that ended with a touchdown catch by Nico Collins after a screen.
Cleveland again marched into the red zone, where Flacco then served Hunt for a short shovel pass over the middle. But the Texans had an answer to that too: After a bootleg, CJ Stroud threw a short screen over two defenders to tight end Brevin Jordan, who outran safety Ronnie Hickman – and everyone else – for a 76-yard touchdown.
After the defense briefly managed to get a little more access again and Stroud also threw a wide-open Collins over a shot into the end zone, the Texans put another exclamation mark before the break: after a pass interference from Hickman and despite a holding -Penalty against the offensive line, Stroud threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Collins after play action for a 24:14 halftime lead.
The Browns defense held right after the break, but their own offense completely fell apart. Flacco threw two picks-sixes in a row – first he threw under heavy pressure to Nelson, who carried the ball back 82 yards for a touchdown and shortly afterwards he threw a short pass on the fourth attempt after a rollout right into the arms of Christian Harris for a 36 -Yard return touchdown. Afterwards, after a little forward movement, we were stopped on the fourth attempt. This all happened in the third quarter and broke the guests’ necks.
The best indication of this: in the middle of the fourth quarter, the backups for the Texans were allowed to play, including Davis Mills, who took over for Stroud.
Cleveland Browns (#5) @ Houston Texans (#4)
Result: 14:45 (7:10, 7:14, 0:14, 0:7) BOXSCORE
Browns @ Texans: Key stats
- Prior to this game, Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott and Sammy Baugh were the only rookies with at least 200 passing yards and three touchdown passes in a playoff game. Stroud managed this in the first half.
- Christian Harris followed in the footsteps of Texans legend JJ Watt: He is the first player with a sack and a pick-six in a playoff game since Watt in 2011.
- Stroud finished the game with 274 passing yards and three touchdowns. That’s the fourth-most passing yards by a rookie ever in the playoffs. Only Brock Purdy (332), Dak Prescott (302) and Andrew Luck (288) had more. Three TD passes set the rookie record.
- Stroud’s passer rating of 157.2 is the highest in a game for a rookie in playoff history (minimum 20 pass attempts). He also just missed perfection (158.3).
- For Flacco it was his sixth start in the Wild Card Round and his first loss in this round. With a win he would have overtaken Brett Favre for the most ever. In addition, with a win he could have overtaken Tom Brady for the most away wins in the postseason (7).
The star of the game: CJ Stroud (quarterback, Texans)
Stroud had an impressive playoff debut, being very efficient, patient and passing the ball with impressive precision, despite being blitzed frequently. His reads were strong and, especially in the second quarter, he varied the tempo masterfully so that the Browns defense never got into a rhythm.
The flop of the game: Ronnie Hickman (Safety, Browns)
Of course, the Browns’ entire secondary didn’t look particularly good, but UDFA Hickman stood out. He missed the tackle on Jordan’s touchdown, he simply let Collins pass on Stroud’s ultimately missed shot at Collins, he had a pass interference on the same drive and was then not in the picture for Schultz’s touchdown.
Analysis: Browns @ Texans – that stood out tactically
- The Texans made changes in the secondary: Cornerback Stingley played predominantly as a left cornerback this season. But in this game he was often assigned to Cooper, which meant he usually had to switch to the right side. A clear departure from the team’s other concept and a step that posed problems for the Browns.
- The Texans had to temporarily do without left tackle Laremy Tunsil before the break and responded with quick passes as well as screens and bootlegs. Even when he came back, this remained a common method when the deep crossers and posts after play action weren’t open. The shorter passes to the outside repeatedly neutralized the pass rush and also punished the Browns’ frequent blitzes.
- Basically, both of them often played with 2-high looks, but they acted variably and always did a single-high with the other safety in the box. However, this often led to big plays on both sides, especially against tight ends, because the coordination in the respective secondary was not right.