(SportsRadio 610) - As the Texans prepare for their next biggest game of the season, which they’ve been doing for the better part of the last month, the Cleveland Browns are the latest team that stands in their way.
Literally.
Ahead of the week 16 clash between the two teams, the Browns occupy the fifth seed within the AFC playoff race, while the Texans are currently in the outside looking as the eight seed. For Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans, while these clubs are in a very different place right now, respectively, their paths to this point of the season have aligned in more ways than one.
“It’s almost like we’re the same team,” Ryans said. “They’re dealing with a lot of injuries, guys are in and out, they lost their quarterback. So, it’s kind of, you’re in the same boat. It all about that next man up mentality, ‘man let’s go win these games as a team’ and Cleveland, they’re finding ways to win and the same goes for us, we’re all finding a ways to win. So, I think this is going to be a very evenly matched game.”
The Texans hope they can further muddy the waters with a win on Sunday, they could use some help. If things break the right way and the Jaguars lose on the road to the Buccaneers Sunday afternoon, the Texans would be in the drivers seat within the AFC South and have their first lead in the division since 2019.
It appears the Texans will once again be without rookie quarterback CJ Stroud this weekend, likely turning to veteran Case Keenum for a second straight week. Stroud remains in concussion protocol after sustaining a head injury in the Texans 30-6 loss to the Jets week 14.
Awaiting the fate of Nico Collins (calf) as well, who was a limited participant in practice on Wednesday, among other key position players on both sides of the ball as the week continues, the Texans will have their hands full against the Browns no matter who’s available.
The Browns (9-5) are the NFL’s best defense in terms of total yards allowed through week 15. They’ve allowed the fewest passing yards, the created the 11th fewest rushing yards and have created the leagues sixth most turnovers.
The defense led by Myles Garrett, who’s seventh in the NFL in sacks with 13, has terrorized quarterbacks consistently all season, pressuring opposing signal-callers on nearly 26% of drop backs and knot them down on 12% of drop backs for the second most in the league.
Keenum, who gets rid of the ball relatively quickly, will have to be even more efficient in doing so on Sunday. He took three sacks in Sunday's win over the Titans.
If Nico Collins plays Sunday, that should go a long way in helping Keenum and the pass game find open targets earlier. Collins has had a career-year, thriving in Slowik’s system by creating space early in his route, particularly on crossing routes.
However, they’ve been a different team on the road this season. The Browns are 7-1 at home but just 2-4 on the road.
While a major area of concern for the Texans has been the inconsistent ability to run the ball effectively, what they’ve recently found in Devin Singletary, may bode well against the Browns run defense, which hasn’t necessarily traveled well.
At home, the Browns have allowed just 3.46 yards per carry, which is the seventh fewest in the league. However, they’ve been a very pedestrian run defense on the road, ranking in the bottom half of the league, allowing 5.94 yards per attempt.
Singletary, who rushed for 121 yards on 26 attempts in the Texans 19-16 overtime victory against the Titans last weekend, has broken the century-mark three times in his last six games and averaged better than 4.5 yards per carry in five games during that stretch has emerged as the Texans primary running back and it’s not close.
Since week 10, when Singletary ran for a career-high 150 yards in a thrilling 30-27 victory over the Bengals, the fifth-year pro has rushed for 502 yards on 105 attempts, averaging 4.78 yards per carry.
He’s playing the best football of his career and it couldn’t have come at a more crucial time, at least as far as the Texans are concerned.
While the Texans presumably didn’t have it drawn up this way heading into training camp, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik has to continue to find ways to put Singletary in position to be an effective runner down the stretch.