Browns 14-45 Texans, summary: score, stats, highlights | NFL Wild Card

GAME SUMMARY: Texans defeat Browns in Wild Card win

What a way to start off the Wild Card Weekend. The Texans dominated the Browns to win the Wild Card and move on to the Divisional Round. 

Throughout most of the first half, it was a back-and-forth battle that looked like anyone's game, but towards the end of the 2nd quarter, the Browns began to slip and they just never regained their footing as the Texans dominated on all sides of the ball.

Houston, you have no problems

The Texans looked nearly flawless at home against the Browns. Quarterback C.J.Stroud just carried his incredible rookie regular season into the post season, finishing the game 16-of-21 for 274 yards and three touchdowns, no interceptions, and no sacks. He became the youngest quarterback to ever win a playoff game.

Those three touchdowns were caught by three different receivers - wide receiver Nico Collins, tight end BrevinJordan, and tight end DaltonSchultz. In addition, the Texans had one rushing touchdown as well, scored by DevinSingletary, who finished the day with 13 carries for 66 yards.

On the defensive side, the Texans made several impressive stops, sacking Browns quarterback Joe Flacco a total of four times - by Christian Harris, Kurt Hinish, Will Anderson Jr., and Derek Barnett. They also made two back-to-back pick-sixes. The first was by StevenNelson, who ran the interception back 82 yards for the touchdown. Then it was ChristianHarris, who ran it back 36 yards.

Stroud was taken out of the game with nine minutes left after the Texans were up 45-14 and Davis Mills took over.

Flacco's Wild Card win streak broken

Though Flacco led the Browns to a tremendous end to the regular season, going 4-1 at the end and leading them to an 11-7 record and just their third playoff appearance since the 1999 expansion, his 5-0 Wild Card win streak was broken and is now 5-1, as he was outplayed by this magnificent rookie. The Browns' season ends here.

Texans move on to Divisional Round

In the Divisional Round next week, the Texans will face either the Ravens, Chiefs, Dolphins, or Bills. If the Bills and Chiefs win their games, the Texans would play the Ravens in Baltimore, but we'll have to wait and see how all the other Wild Card games play out before we know who they'll be facing next week.

TEXANS MOVE TO DIVISIONAL ROUND WITH WIN OVER BROWNS

Texans kneel it three times to take the win in Houston over the Cleveland Browns and move on to the next round of the playoffs.

Browns go for it on 4th again and again Flacco is SACKED bu Hinish this time for a loss of 8 yards - Texans will take over on their own 47 to finish off the game

TWO-MINUTE WARNING

And that'll take us to the two-minute warning. 

With 2 minutes left in the game, the Texans are on the verge of heading to the divisional playoffs next week while the Browns are suffering a beating.

The Browns have the ball at the Texans 38 but are at 4th down and 6.

Ford takes it up the middle for just a yard - 4th down Browns

Ford taken back 2 yards by Davis, then Bryant picked up 5 for 3rd and 7

Flacco throws the inside slant to Cooper for 10yards, 1st down

Flacco to Moore for 5 yards 

Flacco makes the pass to Bell who leaps up between defenders to catch the ball for 10yards and the 1st down

Flacco under pressure throws incomplete - 2nd down

On the next play, Hunt runs it up the middle and leaps over defenders for 14 yards

Flacco to Hunt, who's taken back a yard by Ross

Johnston punts 44 yards to end zone - Touchback

Delay of Game on Houston

Mills pass to Metchie is good for just 6 - 4th down and 3

Pierce stopped by Elliott, 3rd and 9

Mills in at QB

The Texans have taken out Stroud and put Mills in. He hands it off to Pierce and he gets a yard - 2nd and 9

The Browns go for it on 4th down and Flacco's pass to Njoku is dropped - the Texans will take over on downs at the Browns 46

Flacco avoids a sack, gets it to Hunt, but Hunt is taken down by King after just 2 yards - 4th and 3

Flacco to Moore for 7 yards - 3rd and 5

Hunt taken backwards by Collins for a loss of 2 - 2nd and 12

Flacco escapes out of the pocket and scrambles 8 yards for the 1st down

Ford picks up 3 yards, then another 3 and the Browns are at 3rd and 4

Fairbairn kicks 60 yards from Texans 40 to end zone - Touchback

As Fairbairn made the PAT, Browns' Garrett was called for Offsides. The kick still counted and the penalty will be enforced between downs, 5 yards

Singletary LEAPS into the end zone after a 19-yard run to make another touchdown for the Texans. Fairbairn's PAT was good and the Texans are on fire with 13:27 left in the final quarter.

Singletary takes it up the middle 3 yards

Stroud pass to Woods for 11yards and the 1st down, easy peezy

END THIRD QUARTER

And the clock winds down to zero to end the third quarter.

The Texans are absolutely destroying the Browns as we head into the final quarter. They've got the ball on 3rd down at the Browns 33 after the Browns turned it over on downs on their last drive.

Singletary takes it up 1 more yard - 3rd and 4

Singletary takes it up 5 - 2nd and 5

Stroud pass to Collins for 11yards and the 1st down

The Browns go for it on 4th and 6 and Flacco gets SACKED by Harris, who had the pick-6 on the last play - a loss of 13 yards

The Texans will get the ball on downs at the 50.

Flacco's pass to Bryant is knocked away by Stingley, 4th and 6

Flacco to Ford for 4 yards is followed by another incomplete pass to Njoku that was nearly picked again - 3rd and 6

Flacco under pressure gets the ball away to Bryant who leaps up to make the catch for 11yards and the 1st down

Browns' Hudson was injured during the play

Flacco pass incomplete to Goodwin - 3rd and 8

Njoku makes another catch but this time for just 3 yards - 2nd and 8

Njoku makes up for it with a 16-yard catch and the 1st down

Flacco passes to Ford for 4 yards, but Njoku drops it on the next play

pick-6 number two

pick-6 number one...

The Browns are falling apart and the Texans are dominating as they scored back-to-back pick-sixes. This time it was when the Browns were going for it on 4th and 2 and Flacco threw the interception, caught by Harris who ran it 36 yards to the end zone for the touchdown. Fairbairn's PAT was good and the Texans have a solid lead with 4:06 to play in the third quarter.

That backfired BAD. INTERCEPTED by Harris and...

Flacco hands it off to Hunt but Cashman and Anderson take him back a yard - 4th and 2 but this time the Browns are going for it

Flacco to Bell again, this time for 5 - 3rd and 1

Flacco to Bell for 4 yards - 2nd and 6

Fairbairn kicks 65 yards from Texans 35 to end zone - Touchback

Flacco was under pressure, threw the ball away and it was INTERCEPTED by Nelson, who ran it all the way into the end zone 82 yards. Fairbairn's PAT was good and the Texans extend to a comfortable lead with 6:05 to go in the 3rd quarter.

This time, Flacco's pass to Bell is good for much more - just enough for the 1st down on a 16-yard catch

At 1st and 20, Flacco's pass to Bell is good for just 4 - 2nd and 16

Flacco pass short to for no gain but the Browns get a Holding call on Pocic to put them back another 10 yards 

Flacco pass deep to Cooper caught for 16yards - 1st down

Ford gets just 2 yards as Anderson wraps him up - 3rd and 2

Flacco hands it off to Hunt and he picks up 6 yards - 2nd and 4

Texans' Harris was injured on the play

Flacco to Njoku for 10yards and the 1st down

Flacco gets the ball to Bell for 4 yards - 2nd and 6

Johnston punts 48 yards to Browns 15, out of bounds

Anoooother flag. This time a FalseStart on Texans' Cashman - puts them back another 5 yards for another re-punt

Johnston punts 42 yards to Browns 16 and Proche calls the Fair Catch but there were two flags on the play

One on Texans Ogunbowale for Holding and one on Browns for IllegalFormation, offsetting.

They'll re-do the kick.

Owusu-Koramoah makes another great stop on Collins for a loss of 1 and the Texans punt it back

Stroud pass to Hutchinson is good for 6 yards - 3rd and 3

Singletary gets just a yard, taken out by Owusu-Koramoah and Smith - 2nd and 9

Stroud to Metchie is caught for 11yards - 1st down

Singletary gets no gain, taken down by Garrett - 2nd down

And we're back!

Patterson kicks 65 yards from Browns 35 to end zone - Touchback

And finally this 37-yard TD to Schultz that put the Texans up by 10

Texans responded with this beautiful 76-yard TD by Jordan

Hunt steals it back yet again with TD #2

Collins' TD in immediate response to the Browns

Hunt gave Browns their first TD of the game

Taking the lead back from Houston after they were forced to kick a field goal.

HALFTIME

And with that, the first half is done.

The Texans are leading by 10  and the first half ended in a Flacco sack-o. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

The Texans get the ball to start out the second half.

Flacco SACKED by Anderson for a loss of 9 yards 

This time Flacco's pass is incomplete to Cooper - 2nd down

Flacco passes deep to Cooper for 19 yards - 1st down

Fairbairn kicks 65 yards from Texans 35 to end zone - Touchback

At 2nd and 20, Stroud got that and then some with a deep pass to a wide open Schultz for a 37-yard touchdown. Fairbairn's PAT was good and the Texans extend the lead heading into halftime with 1:11 left in the first half.

Singletary pushed back 2 yards by Tomlison - 2nd and 20

TWO-MINUTE WARNING

That'll take us to the 2-minute warning. Texans have the ball at the Browns 35 at 1st and 18 after the penalty.

Singletary turned on the speed and took off 23yards but it's for naught - Holding on Texans' Mason takes it back - 1st and 18

PassInterference on Browns' Hickman - 12 yards and a lucky automatic 1st for the Texans

Stroud under pressure gets the ball away to Schultz but it's incomplete, but there's a flag...

Singletary is tripped up by none other than Owusu-Koramoah again, for a loss of a yard - 3rd and 5

Stroud pass is caught by Hutchinson for 6 yards - 2nd and 4

Stroud under pressure gets the ball away to Collins quick and he takes off 12 yards for the 1st down

Singletary jump cuts Newsome and picks up 6 yards and the 1st down

Metchie takes it up 9 yards - 2nd and 1

Bojorquez punts 41 yards to Texans 29, out of bounds

Flacco passes high and Njoku jumps up to make the incredible catch but it's still just short of the 1st down as he's tackled by Nelson. 

Browns will punt at 4th and 2.

Illegal Shift on Browns, declined. Browns at 3rd and 8.

Flacco under pressure, throws it away and a flag is thrown...

Flacco scrambles up the middle and he's hit hard by King as he starts the slide, gets 2 yards - 2nd and 8

Flacco passes to Njoku and it's caught even with two defenders on him for the 1st down

Ford takes it up the middle 7 yards - 2nd and 3

Johnston punts 49 yards to Browns and Proche calls dor the Fair Catch

Stroud threw a bullet pass to Collins hoping for the touchdown but it was too long and fell incomplete - 4th down and long and the Texans will punt

It's Owusu-Koramoah again who makes the stop on Singletary, pushing him back another 2 yards - 3rd and 13

Pierce taken back a yard by Owusu-Koramoah - 2nd and 11

Bojorquez punts 50 yards to Texans 37 and King takes it up 7 yards to the Texans 44

Flacco is SACKED by Barnett for a loss of 8 and the Texans have forced the Browns to go 3 and out. 

At 4th and 22, they punt it away.

Flacco gets it away to Ford but he is swallowed up by Harris for a loss of 4 yards - 3rd and 14

Browns take second timeout

Flacco pass incomplete to Njoku and he's looking for a flag as Nelson looked like he hit him early, but no flag comes - 2nd and 10

Fairbairn kicks 65 yards from Texans 35 to end zone - Touchback

Yes, you read that right. This game is back and forth and back and forth. Stroud made a short pass to Jordanand he was wide open with plenty of space to run and run he did, 76 yards for the touchdown. Fairbairn's PAT was good.

Texans in the lead AGAIN with 12 minutes left in the first half.

Patterson kicks 54 yards from Browns 35 to Texans 11 and Ogunbowale takes it up 13yards to the Texans 24 

It's Hunt again in the end zone! Flacco shovel passed it to him and he ran it in 11 yards for the touchdown.

Browns once again steal the lead to start the second quarter with 12:18 still to play in the first half.

Flacco pass complete to Bell for 6 yards to the Texans 11 - 2nd and 4

Flacco runs it up 3 yards for the 1st down

Browns' Bitonio was injured on the play

Ford picks up another 4 - 3rd and 2

Ford takes it up 4 yards - 2nd and 6

END FIRST QUARTER

Wow! To end this quarter, Flacco makes an explosive pass play to Bryant and he just takes off for 47yards. And that brings us to the END of the first quarter. We have ourselves a game!

Fairbairn kicks 65 yards from Texans 35 to end zone - Touchback

Texans' Tonsil was injured on the play 

The Texans responded IMMEDIATELY to the Browns' touchdown with one of their own. Stroud made the pass to Collins and he just took off, breaking tackles to make it into the end zone 15 yards for the touchdown.

Texans take the lead right back with just 11 seconds left in the first quarter.

Collins moves to the side and picks up 3 - 2nd and 7

Stroud hits Metchie on a long pass for another 27 yards

Singletary breaks through SEVERAL tackles for 29yards to start this drive

Patterson kicks 65 yards from Browns 35 to end zone - touchback

The Browns got down the field quick on a huge 45-yard catch by Njoku. It's Hunt who takes it in a yard into the end zone for the touchdown. The Browns take back the lead from the Texans with just over 2 minutes left to play in the first quarter.

Flacco to Bryant for 2 yards just at the 1... 3rd and goal

Direct snap to Hunt and he takes it up the middle 5 yards 

Browns take first timeout

Flacco hits a bullet to Cooper and it is caught for 14yards - 1st and goal

Flacco passes to Njoku again for 8 yards this time - 2nd and 2

And the Browns have responded! Flacco throws DEEP to Njoku for 45yards! 1st down Browns at the Texans 30

The Texans get all the way down to the red zone after a 38-yard catch by Collins, but they can't get it in the end zone past the Browns defense. They settle for the field goal and Fairbairn's 21 yard attempt is good. Texans take the early lead with 5:29 to play in the 1st quarter.

TEXANS FIELD GOAL!

Stroud pass low to Roberts in the end zone is incomplete, broken up by Newsome - Texans will have to go for the FG

Stroud scrambles away but gets just a yard - 3rd and goal 

Elliott knocked the ball away from Stroud - 2nd and goal

Texans take 1st timeout

Stroud throws long and IT. IS. CAUGHT! by Collins for 38 yards - 1st and goal Texans

Singletary gains just 1 more yard - 3rd and 7

Stroud to Singletary for 3 yards - 2nd and 8

Bojorquez punts 32 yards to Browns 45, out of bounds - gives Texans great field position

Flacco pass complete to Hunt this time but he's still quite short of the 1st down with just 3 yards - 4th and 5

Flacco's pass incomplete to Hunt on the next play and they're at 3rd and long again

Hunt takes it up 2 yards - 2nd and 8

Johnston punts 45 yards to the Browns 7, Proche to takes it to the 8 for 1 yard 

Stroud's pass again incomplete to Brown, nearly picked and the Texans are at 4th and 4 and will punt it back to Cleveland

Offsides on Browns' Garrett will give them 5 - 3rd and 4

Stroud's next pass to Brown is incomplete again but there's a flag on the play...

Stroud throws another long pass but Schultzdropsit - 2nd and 10

On the next play, Stroud throws long to his favorite target Collins and it's good for 21 yards - 1st down Texans

Stroud takes the field for the first time in the playoffs and starts off with a short 3-yard pass to Singletary

Bojorquez punts 52 yards to Texans 17, King calls for the Fair Catch

Houston defense takes early stand

Flacco's in trouble but he gets it away to Hunt in a hurry but it's a loss of 6 yards again as Stingley and Davis take him down - 4th down and 15, Browns will punt it away

Flacco hands it off to Ford but Perryman takes him down hard and fast for a loss of 4 yards - 3rd and 9 Browns 

Flacco through the air again to Bell for 5 yards - 2nd and 5

Injured player early on - Texans' Rankins walks off the field

Flacco starts us off doing what he does best with a long pass to Ford for 11yards, 1st down

GAME TIME!

Fairbairn kicks 65 yards from Texans 35 to end zone - Touchback.

The Browns start us off on offense. LET'S GO!

Here we go!

Well, there's some incentive just in case you were missing any...

Browns @ Texans INACTIVES list

Cleveland Browns Wild Card INACTIVES

K Dustin Hopkins
QB Jeff Driskel (emergency third QB)
WR Cedric Tillman
RB Pierre Strong Jr.
CB Kahlef Hailassie
C Luke Wypler
DE Isaiah McGuire

Houston Texans Wild Card INACTIVES

DE Jerry Hughes
TE Eric Saubert
DT Teair Tart
OL Nick Broeker
QB Case Keenum (emergency third QB)

Let's talk about Stroud

Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud joins a small list of rookie QBs to lead their team to a playoff game. He's had an outstanding season and is on track to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year by a long shot.

Stroud's first NFL regular season

The Texans made the right choice when they made Stroud the second overall pick in the NFL Draft last April. His 4,108 passing yards rank third among all rookie quarterbacks in NFL history. In fact, he was one of just nine quarterbacks to surpass the 4,000 mark this season.

In the Texans' win over the Colts in Week 18, Stroud threw for 264 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions, becoming just the third player in NFL history to lead the league in both passing yards per game (273.9) and touchdown/interception ratio (4.6) in the same season. The other two were Tom Brady and Joe Montana. 

As few rookie QBs as there have been who led their team to the post season, even fewer have won a playoff game. But Stroud could join that short list today too.

No. 4 Texans vs No. 5 Browns

Although the Texans are in the postseason and won their division, they accomplished both of those things by the skin of their teeth at the last moment in Week 18. It could have easily been the Colts. But here we are.

The Browns clinched their playoff berth in Week 17, though they came in second in their division behind the Ravens. Still, that gave them the opportunity to rest their starters in the final week while Houston's fought to make it to the postseason.

What happened last time the Browns and Texans met?

It wasn't long ago that the Browns and Texans played each other at NRG Stadium. That game on Christmas Eve ended in a 36-22 win for Cleveland. Granted, the Texans were without rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, which does make a difference. He threw for the second-most yards per game and ended the regular season sixth overall in passer rating. 

Still, it won't be an easy win for Houston. Browns quarterback Joe Flacco is quite familiar with the NFL playoffs and is 5-0 in Wild Card games. When he and the Browns beat the Texans in Week 16, he and WR Amari Cooper connected for a franchise record of 265 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

Honestly, neither of these teams was supposed to make it this far. And neither one is going to be ready to call it quits. It's going to be a good game today in Houston! 

Welcome!

Good afternoon, everyone and a happy Wild Card Weekend to you! 

Welcome to our live coverage of the first of the Wild Card playoffs between the AFC South champs Houston Texans and the Cleveland Browns.

The game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. ET from NRG Stadium in Houston, TX and we'll be here to bring you all the latest scores, stats, highlights, and commentary. So get the nachos and beer ready. It's playoffs time.