The No. 5 seeded Browns (11-6) will face the No. 4 seeded Texans (10-7) on Saturday, January 13. Houston won the AFC South after defeating the Indianapolis Colts while the Jacksonville Jaguars were defeated by the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Jordan Akins, a tight end with the Browns, spent the first five years of his career with the Texans. Akins believes his Cleveland team has the advantage in the must-win game.
“They’re a good team,” Akins told Cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, “but we’re a better team.”
The first odds would suggest that many people agree with Akins. The Browns are a 1.5-point road favorite for this game. The postseason will begin on Saturday at NRG Stadium. This season, the Browns were 4-0 versus the AFC South.
Following the conclusion of the regular season on Sunday, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was less keen to discuss his team’s next opponent.
“I think we’ll have plenty of time to talk about them this week,” Stefanski told reporters. “Obviously, I have a great deal of respect for their team and coaches.” They perform an excellent job. I know what a great squad that is.”
Without C.J. Stroud, the Texans were defeated by the Browns.
The Browns and Texans have some regular-season film to review. On Christmas Eve, Cleveland defeated Houston 36-22 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score showed.
The Texans, on the other hand, were missing standout rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, who was out with a concussion. Akins understands that having Stroud back will give the Texans an advantage in the game.
“Without a doubt, C.J. is very special,” Akins remarked. “They have a lot of good pieces and were missing a lot of players, so it’s definitely not going to be the same game.”
Stroud had a fantastic debut season. The No. 2 overall pick completed 63.9% of his throws for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions. Instead of Stroud, the Browns faced Case Keenum the first time. In the loss, he threw two interceptions.
“It’s going to be a great matchup,” said Browns tight end David Njoku. “Their starting quarterback is back, which is great news for us.” It’s going to be great fun. He has a lot of talent. It’s also his freshman year, so the sky’s the limit for him. We’re looking forward to playing them.”
The Texans are making their first playoff appearance since 2019. This was done with current Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson – who is now injured — as the signal caller. For the first time since the 2020 season, the Browns have made the playoffs.
The Texans want to put pressure on Browns quarterback Joe Flacco
Joe Flacco Stroud did not play in the first game, but Joe Flacco did for the Browns. The 38-year-old wrecked the Texans’ defense. Flacco had a QB rating of 96.1 after passing for 368 yards and three touchdowns.
The Texans only had one sack of Flacco, which head coach DeMeco Ryans blasted after the game.
“When you don’t get pressure on the quarterback — no matter who’s out there — it’s gonna be a long day,” Ryans remarked on December 24. “So Flacco had a really good day against us.” We didn’t put any pressure on him. He remained back in the pocket, he had all day to throw the football, and we weren’t in the right spot in coverage.”
Flacco was given the week off to prepare for the Cincinnati Bengals. Flacco is 4-1 this season with over 300 yards and multiple touchdowns in each of his five starts.
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