Stroud stars as Texans rout Browns to advance to the divisional round

C.J. Stroud threw three touchdown passes, Steven Nelson and Christian Harris each had a pick-six, and the Houston Texans defeated the Cleveland Browns 45-14 on Saturday in an AFC wild card game.

Stroud completed 16 of 21 passes for 274 yards as Houston won its first postseason game since January 4, 2020.

Stroud (22 years and 102 days) became the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game, surpassing Michael Vick.

Nico Collins had six catches for 96 yards and a touchdown for the Texans (11-7), who scored 35 straight points after Cleveland's Kareem Hunt caught an 11-yard touchdown pass with 12:18 remaining in the second quarter.

Nelson and Harris effectively sealed the victory, with Nelson returning an interception 82 yards to the end zone to give Houston a 31-14 lead with 6:05 left in the third quarter.

The Browns offense returned to the field and ran three plays before Joe Flacco was intercepted by Harris, who darted 36 yards into the end zone to make it a 24-point game.

Devin Singletary ended any hopes of a comeback with a 19-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. Singletary totaled 66 yards on 13 carries.

Flacco finished with 307 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions on 34-of-46 passing. Hunt scored two touchdowns (one rushing and one receiving), and David Njoku caught seven passes for 93 yards.

Cleveland (11 - 7) was outgained 356-324.

It marked the end of an adversity-filled season for the Browns, who lost star playmakers Nick Chubb (knee) and Deshaun Watson (shoulder) to season-ending injuries well before the playoff push.

As a replacement for Watson, Cleveland signed Flacco, who went 4-1 in five regular-season starts.

"I was so fortunate to become a part of this team. It's a special group," Flacco said. "Listen, this is why we love football. This is why we love NFL playoffs. It's 14 really good football teams, and it's one game. ... There's always a winner and a loser, and (Saturday), like I said, unfortunately for us, we were the loser."

SportsLigue