The Texans’ growth and emergence is noticeable. Give partial credit to the Browns

HOUSTON — As Cleveland Browns players shook hands and hugged out their goodbyes in a quiet murmur throughout the visiting locker room Saturday evening, a few truths began to be revealed.

The fantasy ride of the last month crashed back to Texas soil about the time Joe Flacco threw his second pick-six in the third quarter. The Browns are very much back in reality now, and here’s the painful truth that accompanies it: The Houston Texans traded you their franchise quarterback, then won their division and now a playoff game before you did. Destroyed you, really. And they still have one more of your first-round picks to complete the trade.

I wrote this week that the AFC South was a straw-man division this year, and I still believe that’s true. But it certainly felt like Saturday’s 45-14 dismantling signaled the Texans — the toxic, dysfunctional, three-coaches-in-three-years Texans — as the latest team to pass the Browns in any sort of AFC power rankings. Maybe that’s unfair because the Browns didn’t have Deshaun Watson in this game, but some of those draft picks the Browns gave Houston to acquire Watson played a pivotal role in this game.

GO DEEPER

C.J. Stroud dazzles, Joe Flacco crashes as Texans topple Browns in AFC wild-card matchup

Linebacker Christian Harris, who returned the second of Flacco’s two interceptions for touchdowns, was drafted by the Texans in the third round in 2022 with the Browns’ pick. Will Anderson Jr. had a couple of tackles and a sack, including a key third-down stop. Houston moved up to draft him with the No. 3 pick last year, using the Browns’ pick as the catalyst.

Tank Dell, the talented receiver who missed this game with an injury, arrived in Houston via one of the Browns’ picks.

The Texans are growing into a force again in the AFC primarily because of the emergence of rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud. But they’ve filled out the rest of their roster, in large part, thanks to the Browns.

It’s important to note Watson went 4-1 this year as the starter. (I’m not giving him credit for the Colts game when he went 1-for-5 with an interception and left injured in the first quarter.) He also was terrific the last time we saw him during the second half at Baltimore.

But it’s also fair to point out we’re now going into Year 3 and still asking whether Watson can return to the player he once was, back when he played his home games at NRG Stadium and was cheered by the Texans’ fans.

At some point, as all of the injuries continue to mount, if we have to keep asking whether Watson can return to being a top player, then we’ll have our answer by having to keep asking the question.

None of this is meant to diminish what this Browns team accomplished this season. Reaching the postseason at all given their torrent of injuries should be hailed as an astounding feat. Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry should sign contract extensions on the flight home. Stefanski might even still win Coach of the Year because the ballots were due before the start of the playoffs.

But the Texans are emerging as a threat in the AFC because the Browns helped create them. They literally built the machine that ultimately destroyed them this season.

Browns defensive backs spent most of Saturday futilely chasing after wide-open receivers. I don’t recall another offense making this defense look so slow. Nico Harris ran right by nearly every defensive back on the Cleveland roster at some point. Even backup tight end Brevin Jordan ran away from Browns defenders on his 76-yard touchdown reception.

Stroud was magnificent on Saturday. His three touchdowns and 236 passing yards in the first half were the most for a rookie quarterback in any postseason game. It’s also the most the Browns surrendered in the first half this year. But as one veteran told me in the locker room after the game, it’s not as if the Browns forced Stroud to make tough throws into tight windows. He was playing pitch-and-catch most of the day with skill guys running free in the secondary.

As for Flacco, is there room for him to return next year? I maintain absolutely not.

Flacco had a propensity for turnovers even when he was cooking, but he had the arm strength and moxie to overcome them in previous weeks. Not this time. Flacco played well in the first half Saturday, but the consecutive pick-six throws were simultaneously horrendous decisions and, ultimately, knockout punches. Within three minutes, the Browns went from driving with a chance to cut into a 10-point deficit to suddenly trailing by 24. Everything was immediately over.

Flacco sidestepped a question about whether he wants to return to the Browns because he understands just how strange all of this is.

“We’re dealing with so much right now, just going through the emotions of this game, being so excited to be in this position and now to come up empty,” Flacco said. “So, that’s where my head is, trying to soak it all in and let this digest a little bit.”

Maybe this is enough. Maybe coming back and proving he can still do this a week shy of his 39th birthday will provide Flacco the closure he needs to walk away from the game. If he wants to return, he’ll certainly have offers given how he played. But it can’t be with Cleveland.

The sideline dynamic between Flacco and Watson during games was often clumsy and awkward. I’ll leave it at that. Watson is the future here, and Flacco is the highly decorated substitute teacher. The fact the city fell so hard for Flacco and has yet to embrace Watson further complicates matters, even if it’s not the primary reason why Flacco can’t return.

Watson is the starting quarterback, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson was drafted in the fifth round to be his long-term backup. Nothing that happened over this last month changes any of that.

Maybe all of this works out. Maybe Watson returns next year to a Pro Bowl level and makes all of this sting a little less. Maybe the Browns draft a dynamic playmaker at receiver, Nick Chubb comes back on a reworked contract, Jim Schwartz returns as defensive coordinator, and the Browns return to the playoffs as a wild card or  — gasp — maybe even a division winner.

What seems clear now is one of the teams that will be waiting for them next year — and many years after — will be the Houston Texans. And the Browns are the ones that put them here.

(Top photo by Michael Owens / Getty Images)