HOUSTON — There will be time to further dissect the highs and lows the 2023 Cleveland Browns experienced, and there will be a time when the season will probably be remembered fondly — and as a success.
That time is not now.
The Browns showed up for the playoffs Saturday believing they could carry their December magic forward, that their pass game would continue to excel and that their defense — which has been the best in the league in multiple categories since early September — would deliver when called upon. None of that happened.
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The Browns got embarrassed by the Houston Texans 45-14. Down 10 at halftime, they were lucky it wasn’t worse. Then it got worse, and the Texans made it a laugher with two third-quarter interceptions returned for touchdowns in two minutes. There are other numbers to explain it — and we’ll get to a couple — but one says it all: The Texans ran off 35 unanswered points to close the game.
GO DEEPER
C.J. Stroud dazzles, Joe Flacco crashes as Texans topple Browns in AFC wild-card matchup
There’s one word that comes to mind, and that’s pressure. The Browns had lived on pressuring opposing quarterbacks and turning that into game- and season-changing moments, even when it didn’t show up on the highlight reel or stat sheet. But on the playoff stage, Cleveland struggled to get any pressure on Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud. The Texans moved the pocket and Stroud threw a bunch of lasers. Even when Stroud remained in the pocket, the Browns couldn’t get to him.
Stroud picked out single coverage, then picked it apart. He did what Joe Flacco had done to multiple defenses for most of December, notably this same Texans defense in Week 16 when Stroud didn’t play. In that game, Flacco stood in the pocket and played target practice with Amari Cooper.
Why did Flacco spend the playoff game throwing so many passes to David Bell, the Browns’ No. 4 receiver? Because that’s exactly what the Texans wanted to see. They weren’t going to let Cooper go bonkers again, and they weren’t going to let Flacco stand back unpressured. Building a lead and Stroud torching the Browns made the Houston pass rush even better, and in the second half it was a total flood.
As good as the Browns were defensively for most of the season, and as good as their secondary was capable of being in different situations, Stroud kept taking the easy ones and kept finding open avenues on difficult ones. If a Cleveland defense built on creating pressure wasn’t going to create much of it, its run was going to end.
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It did, with a thud. In the first half, the Texans averaged a staggering 10.6 yards per play. The Browns had allowed 4.6 yards per play on the season, tied for best in the league. Stroud threw three first-half touchdown passes and finished with a near-perfect quarterback rating of 157.2. The Browns registered no sacks and unofficially had one quarterback hit.
The visiting team didn’t put up much of a fight — not on the Texans’ 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass to Brevin Jordan, not at the end of the first half when the Browns let the clock run out after Flacco got sacked, and certainly not in the second half. On the 82-yard pick six by Steven Nelson, Texans defenders were locating players in white jerseys and handing out devastating hits the way the Browns treated opposing quarterbacks and ball carriers for most of the season.
The @HoustonTexans first pick-6 of the season came at a pretty good time.
📺: #CLEvsHOU on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/jM781VisSx pic.twitter.com/h5pC52nrZu— NFL (@NFL) January 13, 2024
“We didn’t show up today,” Browns cornerback Denzel Ward said.
Let’s stick with the pressure theme. Was this Browns team just not ready for the stage and the pressure of becoming January road warriors? Between all the injuries and the wild, Flacco-led ride of December, were the Browns just due to crash at some point soon?
It’s hard to give a real answer to that, but their performance in a playoff game for which they essentially had maximum non-bye preparation time should sound alarms. A Browns team that had shown so much resiliency through the injuries, quarterback switches, offensive tackle changes and the difficult circumstances against the Baltimore Ravens in November and Chicago Bears in December was just overwhelmed in a one-and-done situation.
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Jim Schwartz changed so much about the Browns’ defensive culture and confidence level. On Saturday, he didn’t appear to change a thing as Stroud kept bombing and Houston kept feeding Cleveland’s misdirection. The patchwork offensive line finally got overwhelmed. The quarterback who struggles to move in the pocket finally got thrown off his mark and frequently thrown to the ground.
“They played with a little more confidence, a little more speed, a little more hunger,” Flacco said.
No one could or would argue that, but that’s a major problem. The Browns couldn’t get stops. They had moved the ball early, but the Texans’ rush kept getting home. Houston was fine with the ball going to Bell and Harrison Bryant. Cleveland couldn’t run to keep the blitz honest, either.
On the first interception return for a touchdown, Flacco felt the rush coming and knew he should have thrown it away. He didn’t, instead throwing it into no man’s land. On the second, it was fourth down. The Browns were in a no-win position if they punted and had been put in such a blender defensively that they needed to convert. They had to throw quickly to the flat.
Texans linebacker Christian Harris was waiting, and he ran the pick back 36 yards to the end zone. So many things, on both sides, made it feel like the Texans used that Week 16 loss to learn, adjust and develop a sharp game plan. The Browns kept assuming things would work out as they had in December before the interceptions assured all involved that they wouldn’t.
ANOTHER @HoustonTexans pick-6 🗣️🗣️🗣️
📺: #CLEvsHOU on NBC
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/jM781VisSx pic.twitter.com/0cLwVnM7hV— NFL (@NFL) January 13, 2024
Where was the Browns team that seemingly always made one big play to counter others and always seemed to have an unwavering belief? The Browns were limping, in multiple ways. And now there’s pressure for Cleveland to keep its best players fresh and engaged. To get this defense back to strutting and celebrating, not running into blocks or letting tight ends run by it.
Flacco is almost certainly gone, and Deshaun Watson will be back from major shoulder surgery. But the Browns have to face the reality that three of their oldest, best and highest-paid offensive players — Cooper, Joel Bitonio and Wyatt Teller — all were limping on some level before, during and after Saturday’s game. Myles Garrett spent the season making an impact that reached well beyond his sack total, but he had one sack past Thanksgiving and was not his usual, disruptive self versus the Texans. Not even close.
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It’s not the time to fully dive into the future and the major financial and personnel decisions facing this team. But the mess the Browns made of their big chance in Houston adds pressure on all involved to make this a one-off, a completely horrible day to have a completely horrible day.
It was indeed that. Was it just that? Were the Browns just out of gas?
We won’t have real answers for a long time. But the Browns showing up to the postseason and getting blown off the field clouds the future and dampens the excitement created by this run. To many, Cleveland was back. A return to the playoffs marks a successful step. But a no-show for that game will linger, and there was an urgency to this month because these opportunities are not given. The Browns’ effort Saturday gave them no chance to further what was an otherwise positive season.
(Photo: Tim Warner / Getty Images)
