(SportsRadio 610) - What an opportunity the Texans squandered on Christmas Eve.
Because Jacksonville and Indianapolis lost, the Texans could have captured sole possession of first place in the AFC South if they had defeated the Browns at NRG Stadium, but they wasted their chance to control their destiny for the remainder of the season.
Ugly doesn't begin to describe the Texans' performance against Cleveland at NRG Stadium, where they trailed 36-7 in the fourth quarter before losing 36-22.
"We've got to play better, and it starts with me," coach DeMeco Ryans said. "I've got to coach better. That's the first thing I told our guys. For me, obviously, it wasn't good enough. I have to do better."
In a critical game for both teams that are competing for division titles and wild card playoff berths, the Browns destroyed the Texans in every way imaginable.
The Browns entered the game with the No. 1 defense in the NFL, but they were allowing 30 points a game on the road compared to 13.1 at home. If not for two mop-up touchdown passes by Davis Mills late in the game, that average would have been reduced substantially.
"It sucks," Ryans said. "Had a good opportunity here, but we didn't accomplish the job, so it's back to it. How are we going to show up next week (against Tennessee) ready to go? That's all that matters. Can't do anything about this game now."
The only good thing to come out of Sunday's game is the Texans are in the same situation they faced going into this AFC confrontation with the Browns, who elevated their record to 10-5 and increase their chances to make the playoffs to 99 percent.
With two games left in the season, the Texans, Jaguars and Colts are 8-7 and still in the logjam at the top of the division.
"We've got to play better football," Ryans said. "Before we have an opportunity to talk about a playoff (game), we've got to play better. You have to earn those spots to get into the playoffs. If we play better and earn a spot, then we can talk about possibly the playoff race and what does that looks like. Until then, we've got to do a much better job collectively."
How did the Texans get into this predicament? Let's start this sordid Christmas story from the beginning.
Quarterback Joe Flacco is now 3-1 as a starter after bombarding the Texans for 368 yards and three touchdowns. On Cleveland's first play, he threw deep to Amari Cooper, who had a 53-yard gain that set up the Browns' first touchdown.
The Texans, who intercepted Flacco twice, couldn't have covered Cooper with a blanket. He caught 11 passes for 265 yards and two touchdowns. That's a 24.1-yard average.
Before we go on, let's point out something in the interest of fairness. Not only did the Texans play a second consecutive game without quarterback C.J. Stroud, but their defense was missing end Will Anderson Jr. and linebacker Blake Cashman for another game, too.
Then end Jonathan Greenard, safety Jimmie Ward and cornerback Steve Nelson departed with injuries in the first quarter. Only Nelson returned, but a lot of good it did the secondary that kept getting toasted by Cooper, who had touchdown receptions of 75 and 7 yards.
Without Greenard, their best pass rusher, and Anderson, the front four couldn't generate much pressure on Flacco, who had too much time to throw. He also did a good job of sliding and rolling out to avoid the rush. His pinpoint passes were impressive, especially considering he's turning 39 next month and was out of football until the desperate Browns called.
The Texans' defense did a tremendous job of stopping the Browns' running game, limiting them to 54 yards and 1.8 a carry. But the defensive backs couldn't cover Cooper at all and had trouble at times with tight end David Njoku, who caught six passes, including a 21-yard touchdown.
On the other side of the ball, the Texans were terrible against Cleveland's defense that put incessant pressure on quarterbacks Case Keenum and Davis Mills. For some reason, offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik thought rotating Keenum and Mills would work against the Browns, but it didn't, and he quickly abandoned that cockamamie idea.
When he was pulled in the fourth quarter and the Texans behind by 29 points and scoring their only touchdown on a 98-yard kickoff return by Dameon Pierce, Keenum had connected on 11-of-17 for 62 yards. He had two interceptions, was sacked three times and finished with a 31.6 rating.
Mills, who was 1-of-1 for 5 yards in the first quarter, replaced Keenum and threw two touchdown passes – one to Nico Collins and the other to Andrew Beck. He also collaborated with Collins on a two-point conversion.
The Texans are hoping to get back Stroud next week against Tennessee if he can pass the concussion protocol. If they defeat the Titans for a second time in three weeks and win at Indianapolis in the last game, they could earn a wild card berth. Because of the division tiebreaker, they'll have to finish a game ahead of the Jaguars for a chance to win the AFC South.
Because the Texans have been blown out in two of their last three games by the Jets and Browns, they may be staggering to the finish line unless Stroud and some of the injured defensive players are able to return.
Giving up 36 points to Flacco and the Browns is bad enough but surrendering 30 to the Jets and Zach Wilson was even more embarrassing. Hopefully, they've gotten that kind of performance out of their system with so much at stake against the Titans and Colts.
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.
