CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The clock struck midnight on Joe Flacco and the Browns.
What was a magical run turned into a pumpkin Saturday and the season is over after the Texans blew the Browns out 45-14.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from an embarrassing and not so Super Wild Card weekend in Houston.
The Browns led the NFL in turnovers this season, and Saturday, turnovers helped end their season. Joe Flacco threw a pair of pick-6s on back-to-back possessions in the third quarter that flipped an entertaining game on its head and turned it into a blowout. First came cornerback Steven Nelson’s 82-yard interception return for a touchdown after Flacco didn’t get enough on the throwaway off his back foot to extend Houston’s lead to 31-14. Then on fourth-and-2, Texans linebacker Christian Harris grabbed the ball out of the air and raced 38 yards for a 38-14 lead. Game over.
Flacco’s final numbers: 34 of 46 for 307 yards with a touchdown, two interceptions and a rating of 80.6.
Houston made it a point to box Flacco in and turn up the heat with their front seven. Flacco was sacked four times and hit seven more times. Harris all but ended the game late in the third quarter with a fourth down sack. Rookie Will Anderson Jr., Kurt Hinish and Derek Barnett also had sacks.
The top-ranked defense in the NFL was helpless to slow Texans rookie C.J. Stroud, who took a blowtorch to Cleveland’s secondary in the first half, or anyone playing offense for Houston for that matter Saturday. It was an all-time embarrassing performance. Houston, who ran just 44 offensive plays, piled up 356 yards of offense, including 280 passing yards.
Stroud, who became the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game, didn’t even have to finish the game. He finished 16 of 21 for 274 yards with three touchdowns and a rating of 157.2.
Kareem Hunt scored both Browns touchdowns in the first half, which started off as a shootout before the Texans lowered the boom. Hunt gave the Browns their only two leads with a 1-yard touchdown run that made it 7-3 and 11-yard touchdown catch to put the Browns back on top 14-10. Hunt ran for 26 yards on eight carries and caught five passes for nine yards.
Amari Cooper, playing through a bruised heel, did not come close to the 265-yard and two touchdown performance on Christmas eve. Cooper was held to four catches for 59 yards.
Cleveland’s secondary was uncharacteristically out of position all afternoon. Texans receiver Nico Collins beat then for six catches on seven targets for 96 yards and a 15-yard touchdown. Tight end Brevin Jordan took a short swing pass and turned it into a 76-yard touchdown early in the second quarter that gave Houston the lead for good. Tight end Devin Shultz caught one ball, but it went for a 37-yard touchdown to make it a 24-14 game.
Pushed by the Browns as a defensive player of the year candidate, once again Myles Garrett was neutralized and a non-factor. Garrett finishes the season with one sack in his last seven games. Garrett recorded three tackles. That’s it. Holding penalties not being called aside, that’s not DPOTY material, period.
Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah was the lone defensive bright spot. JOK had nine tackles, four of those for a loss.
Even with the mountain of injuries the Browns climbed to get to 11-6, this was a massive blown opportunity and tremendously disappointing way to end the season. There’s no guarantee Deshaun Watson will be healthy or operate the offense as well as Flacco did for the five games he started down the stretch. The best defense the franchise fielded in nearly 70 years went to waste and was a complete no show when it mattered most.