Tremendous Wild Card Saturday lived as much as its identify within the metropolis of Houston, with the Texans’ introduction to the postseason making mild work of the Cleveland Browns, 45-14. In the event you thought Houston’s 10 wins in head coach DeMeco Ryans’ first yr with a rookie quarterback was a fluke, go forward and smack your self proper now. That goes double for anybody selecting the Browns (like me) to waltz again into H-City and repeat what occurred on Christmas Eve.
These groups performed lower than a month in the past and the Browns had their method in Houston, 36-22. The distinction at the moment was the Texans took the sector with out C.J. Stroud. This time round Stroud was the distinction, passing for 274 yards and three touchdowns whereas finishing simply 16 passes. A rookie QB in his first playoff recreation has the ball hit the bottom solely 5 occasions and completes 76 % of his passes. The phrase “environment friendly” by no means sounded so candy.
Houston is for actual and will have the Coach of the Yr and Rookie of the Yr on the identical crew. Speak about a change of fortune and epic turnaround from one yr in the past. This time final yr, Houston was coming off a three-win marketing campaign with the longer term unsure. A brand new head coach (and workers), a number of draft picks, and a QB later, and the Texans are AFC South Division Champions and on their solution to the divisional spherical of the postseason.
The Texans had an impressive season, however Saturday was their popping out occasion to the world. After the Browns scored a landing early within the second quarter to go up, 14-10, that was the tip of their scoring output for the day. Thirty-five unanswered factors later, Houston was on their solution to the subsequent spherical.
After all, there have been huge expectations for Ryans being a head coach for the primary time, however no one anticipated him to pay dividends on Houston’s funding this quick. Profitable eight video games and barely lacking the playoffs in yr one would’ve been acceptable as it could have proven enchancment below the brand new regime. However Ryans and his boys went for the gusto as a substitute. They overtook the division from Jacksonville, gained double-digit video games, and a playoff victory. They usually will not be carried out successful simply but.
It’s fairly doable we might see the Texans within the AFC title recreation in a few weeks. This crew is that good. Even touring on the highway subsequent week, you’ll be able to’t rely this younger crew out as a result of they defied the chances all yr. Now Houston’s taking part in with home cash as a result of all this can be a bonus. Nobody anticipated this a lot success this quick below Ryans’ administration in Houston. Not to mention from two newcomers main the best way as a coach/QB combo.
