The Houston Texans are moving on to the next round of the NFL playoffs. After earning the AFC South division title and a home playoff game, they defeated the favored Cleveland Browns 45-14 Saturday afternoon at NRG Stadium.
Rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud threw three touchdown passes and the defense scored two touchdowns in the win.
Browns quarterback Joe Flacco had a touchdown pass in the first half and ended the game with over 300 passing yards, but he was picked off twice in the second half and both interceptions were returned for touchdowns in consecutive drives.
The first came on Cleveland’s first drive of the second half, trailing by 10. Steven Nelson picked off Flacco inside the 20 and returned it 82 yards for a touchdown. Four plays later after getting the ball back, linebacker Christian Harris intercepted Flacco and returned it 36 yards for the score.
Texans tight end Brevin Jordan had a 76-yard touchdown reception in the first half and running back Devin Singletary added a 19-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to finish the scoring.
The Texans must await the result of the Steelers-Bills game to know their divisional-round opponent.
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