In their third playoff appearance in the last 25 seasons, the Cleveland Browns suffered a devastating loss to the Houston Texans in an AFC wild-card game on Jan. 13, prematurely eliminating Cleveland’s playoff run.
The offense started off slowly for both teams but picked up with the Texans taking a 3-0 lead with 5:29 remaining in the first quarter. Countering that, Browns quarterback Joe Flacco had a six-play drive for 75 yards, resulting in a touchdown and a 7-3 lead for the Browns with less than three minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Browns’ lead was short-lived, thanks in part to the Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, fresh out of The Ohio State University. Stroud led an impressive four-play, 75-yard drive, hitting wide receiver Nico Collins, who ran the ball into the endzone for a 15-yard touchdown, ending the first quarter 10-7 for Houston.
The Browns came in strong to start off the second quarter with Flacco achieving another six-play, 75-yard drive, by hitting running back Kareem Hunt, who ran the ball in for an 11-yard touchdown. This 14-7 lead for the Browns lasted mere seconds, with Stroud hitting tight end Brevin Jordan, who took the ball 76 yards into the endzone. This was the longest touchdown pass for the Texans this season and gave Houston a 17-14 lead. The score would remain that way until about a minute left in the quarter, with Stroud throwing to open tight end Dalton Schultz who walked right into the endzone, expanding the Texans’ lead to 24-14. The Browns attempted to recover, but a sack from defensive end Will Anderson Jr. dropped Flacco, ending the final drive of the first half.
The second half of the game was completely dominated by the Texans, with Cleveland’s hopes of a comeback dwindling due to offensive errors. In particular, Flacco threw two critical interceptions on back-to-back offensive drives in the third quarter, resulting in touchdowns for the Texans and the quarter ending 38-14 for Houston. The Browns’ offense was shut down in the fourth quarter, and the final touchdown of the game was scored by Texans running back Devin Singletary’s 19-yard run, giving the Texans a 45-14 lead to finish the game.
The Browns had an impressive 11-6 season, which included a 36-22 win against the Stroud-less Houston Texans. However, Stroud proved to be a powerhouse that the Browns could not counter, ending Cleveland’s playoff run.