HOUSTON — And just like that, the Browns season—a season that felt at the start as though it'd never make it to this point—is over.
The Browns traveled down to NRG Stadium to take on the Houston Texans in the first Wild Card playoff game of the weekend. As the team went south, so did their play, blown out of the water 45-15.
Things started slow for both teams. The first score came from Houston late in the first quarter, a field goal after a strong defensive red zone stop. Cleveland immediately answered back with the first touchdown of the day, ran in by Kareem Hunt.
A back-and-forth battle began, with the Texans scoring a touchdown of their own on the next possession when quarterback C.J. Stroud's connection with wide receiver Nico Collins began to thrive.
Hunt scored again on the Browns' next possession, and it seemed to be a game that could go down to the wire. Until it wasn't.
Just before the half, Houston's offense broke out. Stroud hit tight end Dalton Schultz on a 37-yard touchdown pass, Schultz breaking wide open after the Browns' defense sent too many to guard Collins.
Still just a 10-point game at the half, the Browns were no where near out of it. But in the third quarter, quarterback Joe Flacco made a costly turnover, a pick-6 thrown to give Houston a 17-point lead.
In a tough spot, Flacco began pushing the offense and, on the next drive, threw another pick-6.
A 28-point lead seemed just about too much to overcome, but the offense had a quarter and change to try and generate something and close the deficit. Instead, the next drive saw the Browns turn the ball over on downs, and the Texans exploited Cleveland's defense once again for a 45-14 lead.
Throughout 60 minutes of football, the Browns' defense failed to sack Stroud. Only Za'Darius Smith had any contact with the Texans' quarterback, hitting him once on a completed pass. Cleveland had four passes defended and five tackles for loss, four of which came from linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, who had the lone strong performance in the unit.
Stroud threw 16-for-21 with 274 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions and no sacks.
Saturday was a brutal way for the season to end. But at the same time, the Browns getting to this point after losing their starting quarterback, starting running back, starting tackles, and rookie standout amid the slew of defensive injuries was an accomplishment in itself.
It shouldn't have been such a blowout and the Browns will need to address the issues that were glaring in Saturday's game. They will.
Because there will be no Super Bowl for the Browns this year. But there will be plenty of rest and rehab throughout the offseason as Cleveland hopes next year they can stay healthier and make a deeper run in the postseason.
Because there's always next year.
