C.J. Stroud dazzles, Joe Flacco crashes as Texans topple Browns in AFC wild-card matchup

By Larry Holder, Kalyn Kahler and Zac Jackson

Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud shredded the No. 1 ranked NFL defense in the first 30 minutes Saturday in his first playoff start. Then his Houston Texans defensive teammates ended the Joe Flacco comeback story in the final 30 minutes.

The Texans ran away with a 45-14 win over the Cleveland Browns in their AFC wild-card matchup at NRG Stadium thanks to Stroud’s brilliance and an opportunistic defense. Houston will learn its AFC divisional-round opponent once the conference’s playoff slate is completed Monday.

Stroud, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, made it look easy against the league’s best regular-season defense throwing for 274 yards and three touchdowns resulting in a near-perfect 157.2 passer rating.

Wideout Nico Collins snagged the first TD pass on a 15-yard reception late in the first quarter. Tight end Brevin Jordan bolted to a 76-yard TD catch and run early in the second quarter. Then tight end Dalton Schultz added a third TD reception when Stroud dropped it in the bucket for a 37-yard connection with 1:11 left in the half.

Stroud’s 76-yard touchdown pass to Jordan was the Texans’ longest play from scrimmage since Nov. 8, 2020.

Stroud’s three first-half touchdown passes joined Brock Purdy (2023), Dak Prescott (2017) and Sammy Baugh (1937) as the only players in NFL history to throw three TDs in their playoff debut. Of that quartet, Stroud is the youngest to have pulled off the feat at just 22 years old. Purdy was 24, and Prescott and Baugh were 23.

The Texans pulled Stroud with 9:22 left in the game with Davis Mills replacing him.

BREVIN JORDAN FOR 76 YARDS.

PLAYOFF FOOTBALL IS BACK.

📺: #CLEvsHOU on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/jM781VisSx pic.twitter.com/TYJge0SGrj

— NFL (@NFL) January 13, 2024

The Texans defense made its presence known in the third quarter thanks to cornerback Steven Nelson and linebacker Christian Harris.

Flacco floated a deep ball with the Texans’ Derek Barnett draped on him. Nelson camped under the pass for an interception and then weaved his way for an 82-yard return for a TD. On the next Browns possession, Harris undercut a route to pick off Flacco resulting in a 36-yard pick-six to push the Texans ahead 38-14.

STEVEN NELSON 82-YARD PICK-6 ‼️

The @HoustonTexans are ROLLING.

📺: #CLEvsHOU on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/jM781VisSx pic.twitter.com/ATLFAhrPJI

— NFL (@NFL) January 13, 2024

The Browns held a first-half lead twice, both times following Kareem Hunt’s touchdowns — a 1-yard run and an 11-yard reception on a shovel pass from Flacco. But the Flacco late-season thrill ride fell flat. He went 34-of-46 passing for 307 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions resulting in an 80.6 passer rating.

Stroud’s offensive show

Stroud made the Browns’ vaunted defense look pretty average. In the first half alone, Stroud had 236 passing yards, which is the most Cleveland gave up in one half this season. The unit’s previous high was 184 yards in the first half to the Rams. And Stroud even had a rare miss with Collins on a deep shot in the second quarter that should have been a touchdown. Stroud had already arrived, but now he’s arrived with this postseason performance against the league’s best defense.

Stroud wasn’t sacked once in the game. Not once! And his day was done with about 10 minutes left in the game. The Texans escaped an injury scare with left tackle Laremy Tunsil, who had missed games previously this season. — Kalyn Kahler, NFL national writer

GO DEEPER

C.J. Stroud has Texans dreaming big, but maybe not big enough

Texans D no slouch

In the leadup to this game, we questioned if the Texans’ defense would be enough to stop the Browns’ offense. Not only was it enough to hold, but the defense scored two touchdowns on back-to-back pick-sixes from Nelson and Harris. Will Anderson Jr. and Jonathan Greenard made their presence felt. Both Texans pass rushers had been limited in practice and battling injury, and they pressured Flacco all game. Anderson had a sack for a 9-yard loss, a hurry and a tackle for loss, and Greenard had a hurry.

This defense looks like it could be enough to make things tough next week if it faces Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, who have struggled in the postseason. — Kahler

A Browns no-show

Why were the Browns favored in this game? Mostly because their red-hot offense had put up 36 on the Texans — albeit a different Texans team — back in Week 16, and the Browns figured to be able to again move the ball against what had been a shaky Texans’ pass defense. And the Browns’ defense, which had been good all year and the league’s best versus the pass and on third down, figured to be able to speed up and rattle Stroud, who didn’t play in the first meeting.

But Stroud came out throwing rockets, the Browns rarely got pressure on Stroud and the Texans got yards in big chunks. In the first half, the Texans averaged 10.6 yards per play. Add the two third-quarter defensive scores by the home team, and it became a laugher. The Browns had a great year, but they completely no-showed on the playoff stage. — Zac Jackson, Browns beat writer

GO DEEPER

Browns' season comes to an end after being overwhelmed in playoff loss to Texans

Cleveland’s defensive meltdown

The Browns’ defensive identity was built on aggression and the idea that constant pressure generally wins out, even when it doesn’t translate into big defensive plays. But the Browns never found their footing defensively Saturday, and the Texans never really had to veer far away from their game plan. They moved the pocket for Stroud, and when they didn’t, Stroud almost always had enough time to attack single coverage down the field.

The Browns’ makeshift safety group had a nightmare of a day, but the lack of pressure led to multiple big-play opportunities. Stroud cashed a bunch of them, and the Texans rolled to victory. Outside of Jeremiah Owusu-Kormoah, where were the Browns’ defensive mainstays? — Jackson

Flacco’s ride ends

Flacco’s revival was a great story. For most of December, the Browns were a great offense that created big plays and delivered in clutch moments. But in the playoffs, the Browns created a couple of drives and then couldn’t keep up. The Texans returned two Flacco interceptions for touchdowns in the third quarter to put it away, but before that, the story of the day was the Texans creating enough pressure on Flacco to limit the Browns’ big plays and the Browns not being able to create enough pressure to even rattle Stroud, let alone force him into mistakes.

The Browns had been explosive enough on both sides to overcome previous Flacco interceptions and a negative turnover margin. They just got outplayed in every aspect by the Texans. — Jackson

GO DEEPER

Lloyd: The Houston Texans are flourishing. Give a major assist to the Browns

Required reading

(Photo: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)