Browns announce unofficial depth chart for AFC Wild Card playoff vs. the Texans
Cleveland Browns will travel to face the Houston Texans on Jan. 13 at NRG Stadium
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The following is the unofficial depth chart for the first round of the playoffs against the Texans at NRG Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 4:30 p.m. EST, and the game can be seen on NBC.
Offense
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| WR | Amari Cooper | Marquise Goodwin | James Proche II |
| LT | Geron Christian Sr. | Leroy Watson IV | |
| LG | Joel Bitonio | ||
| C | Ethan Pocic | *Luke Wypler | |
| RG | Wyatt Teller | Michael Dunn | |
| RT | James Hudson III | ||
| TE | David Njoku | Harrison Bryant | Jordan Akins |
| QB | Joe Flacco | P.J. Walker | Jeff Driskel |
| RB | Jerome Ford | Kareem Hunt | Pierre Strong Jr. |
| FB | Nick Harris | ||
| WR | Elijah Moore | (*Cedric Tillman) | David Bell |
Defense
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| LDE | Myles Garrett | Ogbo Okoronkwo | Sam Kamara |
| LDT | Dalvin Tomlinson | *Siaki Ika | |
| RDT | Jordan Elliott | Shelby Harris | |
| RDE | Za’Darius Smith | Alex Wright | *Isaiah McGuire |
| WILL | Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah | *Mohamoud Diabate | |
| MIKE | Tony Fields II | Jordan Kunaszyk | |
| SAM | Sione Takitaki | Matthew Adams | |
| LCB | Denzel Ward | *Cameron Mitchell | *Kahlef Hailassie |
| RCB | Greg Newsome II | Martin Emerson Jr. | Mike Ford Jr. |
| SS | D’Anthony Bell | Duron Harmon | |
| FS | Juan Thornhill | *Ronnie Hickman |
Special Teams
| Position | 1st |
|---|---|
| P | Corey Bojorquez |
| K | (Dustin Hopkins) |
| H | Corey Bojoroquez |
| KR | Pierre Strong Jr. |
| PR | James Proche II |
| LS | Charley Hughlett |
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49ers defender: ‘Cleveland is a scary team in the AFC’
The NFL playoffs would have to go perfectly for both teams for the 49ers and Browns to matchup in the Super Bowl
The fact that the Cleveland Browns are the fifth seed in the AFC playoff picture, have one of the best records in all of the NFL and are being talked about as AFC Championship game contenders is beyond shocking given all the injuries. On the other hand, the Browns have been shocking the NFL all season.
It started with a huge win in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, continued in Week 3 with a convincing win over the Tennessee Titans but the team solidified itself as contenders in Week 5 versus the San Francisco 49ers. The big wins didn’t stop there but beating the Niners stamped Cleveland’s season as a big deal.
Now, with a long way to go until the Super Bowl, the Browns are being talked about as the “biggest threats” to the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens in the AFC with a real shot to make it to the Super Bowl. Cleveland is on the minds of San Francisco’s DT Arik Armstead as the NFL playoffs start next week:
Looking back at their Week 5 matchup, you can tell that Armstead remembers exactly how the Browns won. The Niners scored just 17 points, QB Brock Purdy threw for just 125 yards and Cleveland’s rushing attack had 160 yards on the ground.
If the two teams have the type of postseasons they hope to have, the rematch in the Super Bowl would likely include a healthy Christian McCaffrey and Joe Flacco starting for the Browns. Neither was true earlier in the season.
A long way to go until a Cleveland vs San Francisco rematch would be possible but interesting to hear Armstead mention the Browns as a threat.
