(SportsRadio 610) - The Texans would love for C.J. Stroud to have the same kind of playoff experience as Cleveland quarterback Joe Flacco had when he was a rookie in 2008.
Flacco, who leads the Browns into NRG Stadium for Saturday’s game in the wild-card round, helped Baltimore reach the AFC Championship Game, where they lost at Pittsburgh, in his first NFL season.
Stroud was 7 years old when Flacco was the Ravens’ first-round draft choice – 18th overall – and 12 when Flacco had one of the best playoff seasons in NFL history. After the 2012 season, Flacco led the Ravens to a 34-31 victory over the 49ers in Super Bowl in Super Bowl XLVII. He was voted Super Bowl MVP.
During that Super Bowl-winning playoff experience, Flacco threw for 1,140 yards and 11 touchdowns without an interception. His rating was 117.2. Talk about great timing, his contract was up, and the Ravens signed him to a six-year, $120.6-million contract.
While the Texans would, indeed, love for Stroud to do what Flacco did in 2008, what they don’t want is a repeat of their Christmas Eve game when the Browns left NRG Stadium with a 36-22 victory that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicates. Flacco helped the Browns stomp the Texans and embarrass the secondary.
Stroud didn’t play against Cleveland because of a concussion, and there’s a lot of pressure on him to try to come close to matching Flacco’s performance. In that debacle against the Texans, Flacco threw for 368 yards and three touchdowns. He completed six passes of 20 or more yards.
Amari Cooper caught 11 of those passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns. Now it’s up to coach DeMeco Ryans and his players to make sure Flacco and Cooper don’t have that same kind of performance for the Browns, who are favored by 2.5 points.
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“Flacco has done a great job leading this team,” Ryans said this week. “To see how much trust they have in him, seeing the plays he’s able to make, the play-action passing game, the shot plays down the field (and) the accuracy. They’re doing a great job of protecting him. He’s doing an unbelievable job, and he’s the reason they’re in the position they’re in because he’s made a ton of plays. It hasn’t surprised me with the big plays he’s been able to make because Joe has done it for a long time.”
What Flacco has done since being signed late in the season is amazing. Five starts, 4-1 record, at least 300 yards in four consecutive games, 14 touchdown passes and eight interceptions and at least three touchdown passes three times.
“It’s impressive that Joe is still operating at a high level,” Ryans said. “There’s no letup in the arm strength – it’s still elite. The decision-making (is) still at a high level. He’s smart with the football. He has a really good surrounding cast, and he’s able to get the ball to (them).”
On Tuesday, Flacco turns 39, the same age as Ryans.
“Oh, he’s still young,” Ryans said.
Flacco and the Browns’ defense are tough enough to make opposing coaches grow old fast.
“They’re a great team (and) I’m excited for this matchup again,” said Stroud, 22. “They’re the No. 1 defense for a reason. They do a lot of special things. It starts upfront. Of course, (defensive end) Myles Garrett is one of the best players to ever play this game. He proves that week in and week out. Their linebackers do a great job – No. 6 (Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah) -- is also a great player. On the backend, they do a good job of having sticky coverage, so (we’ve) got to be on our A-game and execute at a high level.”
Nobody in the organization is more excited about Stroud being able to play in the rematch than offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, the first-year play-caller who’s getting requests to interview for head coaching jobs.
“I think we all get excited anytime C.J. is under center,” Slowik said. “You can see how efficient he is in his decisions and where he’s going with the ball. And how much he’s grown in understanding when it’s the right time to be aggressive and when’s the right time just to make sure (he’s) getting the ball out -- I thought he did a phenomenal job against Indianapolis doing exactly that. That’s something that we just have to carry over into this week.
“Anytime you face a tough front, we’ve got to be willing to distribute the ball pretty fast and take advantage when we get opportunities. We’ve got to make sure we’re hitting those opportunities downfield.”
In Stroud’s two games since returning from his concussion – victories over the Titans and Colts – Stroud has thrown for 477 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. His ratings have been 102.7 and 134.1. Stroud is the third quarterback in NFL history to lead the league in average yards per game (273.8) and touchdown/interception differential (23/5), joining Joe Montana and Tom Brady.
Stroud closed his first season with 4,108 yards – third in history for a rookie – a 63.9 completion percentage, 8.2 average yards per attempt and a 100.8 rating. Nico Collins is his favorite receiver. Collins caught 80 passes for 1,297 yards (16.2 average) and eight touchdowns.
When asked how Stroud has avoided throwing more interceptions, something that’s common among rookies, Slowik said, “A lot of trust in his receivers. They put a lot of work in on down-the-field stuff post-practice. And, obviously, we get a good amount of reps on that during practice because we do it a decent amount.
“Our receivers have a very aggressive mindset, where they know that in the worst-case situation, when we put the ball down the field, we’re getting an (offensive pass interference) and we’re not letting the defense end up with the ball. I think that just builds a lot of trust. Beyond that, he’s just immensely talented. He’s really good at it, and we’ve got some receivers that are really good at stretching the field.”
Even though he didn’t play in the regular season defeat, the Browns have watched enough tape to know how good Stroud can be.
“He’s been really impressive from afar in terms of his decision-making and the way everything’s kind of looked,” Flacco said. “You can tell he can throw the ball. It seems like he has a lot of arm talent, and the impressive part is the fact that he’s been able to make good decisions all year.”
Owusu-Koramoah said, “C.J. is an awesome player, so it’ll be a challenge for us. I don’t think it’s an edge where you come in and (say) he’s a rookie quarterback and he may struggle with this (or) he may struggle with that. I think he’s mature enough, and he’s seen enough football to be able to execute in the way he should. I don’t think him being a rookie quarterback is going to affect much.”
Kevin Stefanski, who’s in a race with Ryans to see who’s voted NFL Coach of the Year, called Stroud “awesome, great and really talented,” and added, “I remember watching him early because we had some crossover tape getting ready to play Baltimore. That was his first game. I know the state (Ohio) has seen him play quite a bit. He’s a talented young man. Tape is what we as coaches always kind of go back to, and he’s got some really great tape.”
It’s up to defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz to devise a game plan, contain Stroud and beat the Texans.
"(He) has command that goes beyond the (usual) scope of a rookie,” Schwartz said. “Decisive with the ball, accurate passer, buys some time, makes big plays down the field. The fact that he's passed for as many yards as he has without turning the ball over is really impressive for a young guy. Usually, the cost of doing business (is) if you're going to throw a lot of yards is you also turn the ball over a lot.
“We're going to have to play tight coverage (and) stay after him in the pass rush. We're going to have to limit run-after-the-catch because he does a good job of giving his guys opportunities to run after the catch, including Nico Collins.”
Schwartz knows from experience the damage a rookie quarterback can do to a veteran team that’s favored in the playoffs. As the Titans’ defensive coordinator in 2008, Tennessee hosted Baltimore in a divisional-round game. The Ravens won. Flacco went on to Pittsburgh. Schwartz stayed home.
“He beat me,” Schwartz said. “It was a low-scoring game (13-10), but he got it. I'm glad Joe's on our side.”
And the Texans are glad Stroud is on their side. Cleveland is whacko for Flacco, and Houston is proud for Stroud. Texans fans are hoping that Saturday afternoon youth is served.
John McClain can be heard Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on SportsRadio 610 and Monday, Thursday and Sunday on Texans Radio, also on SportsRadio 610. He writes five columns a week and does three Houtopia Football Podcasts for SportsRadio610.com.