A lot of people want to put the Cleveland Browns in the playoff conversation, though it's a long shot. The Browns (4-6-1) are essentially done if they lose one more game. It's just not realistic, especially when they have to go up against one of the NFL's hottest teams in the Houston Texans, who made it eight straight wins by dominating the Tennessee Titans on Monday night. Bill O'Brien was on the hot seat after an 0-3 start, and there were questions about quarterback Deshaun Watson's return from a torn ACL. Now, at 8-3 with remaining games against the lowly New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars, the Texans have the inside track on the AFC South title. They have beaten the Browns the past four times the teams have met.
How to Watch Browns vs. Texans: Week 13
Where: Houston, Texas
Start: Sunday, Dec. 2, 1:00 p.m. ET
TV Network: CBS
Radio: 92.3 The Fan (Browns), KILT (Texans)
Stream Online: Watch live with fuboTV
The big story from the Browns this week came after they beat Hue Jackson and the Cincinnati Bengals. Rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield called out his former head coach, essentially saying he wasn't a fan of Jackson going to work for another team in the division after he had been fired by the Browns. Those two clearly didn't have a great relationship. The Browns made things somewhat interesting in the standings with the impressive win in Cincinnati. Mayfield had a heck of a game, throwing for 258 yards and four TDs. Nick Chubb, continuing his impressive rookie season, had 128 yards from scrimmage and two TDs. Tight end David Njoku has been a great option in the middle of the field for Mayfield. Myles Garrett has anchored the defense with a team-high 10 sacks, including five in his past five games. Joe Schobert has been flying under the radar at linebacker. Since 2017, he's the only player in the NFL with 200-plus tackles, three-plus sacks, and three-plus forced fumbles. They'll need to find a way to contain Watson and a Texans offense that has really been playing well.
Watson is one of two QBs in the NFL (the other is Cam Newton) with 100-plus QB rating and 300-plus rushing yards. His ability to make something out of nothing makes him so hard to stop. It doesn't hurt when he has Lamar Miller in the backfield and DeAndre Hopkins and Demaryius Thomas to throw to. Thomas had two TDs last week, his first TDs in a Texans uniform. Jordan Thomas has also come out of nowhere to be a viable tight end option, snagging three TDs in the past four games. We know how good this defense can be, too. J.J. Watt put up a routine nine-tackle, 1.5-sack, and forced fumble performance last week. Jadeveon Clowney has 49 tackles for losses since 2016, the second-most in the NFL over that span. This Texans team can come at the QB, force turnovers, and they can score. As each week passes by, they look more and more like a Super Bowl contender.
