Browns fans rip NFL officiating over no-call on obvious pass interference vs. Texans

Obvious PI goes uncalled as Browns fall behind in Wild Card vs. Texans

The Cleveland Browns are projected to have losing season

Cleveland Browns fans had high hopes of their team emerging with a victory in their Wild Card game with the Texans at Houston’s NRG Stadium. However, the Browns were upset after they saw their team fall behind by a 24-14 margin at halftime. While the team had issues containing the Texans offense, they were upset to see referees miss an obvious pass interference call that hurt their team quite a bit.

On the play, veteran quarterback Joe Flacco tried to hit Browns tight end David Njoku with a pass near the sideline. As Njoku prepared to make the catch, Houston defensive back Steven Nelson wrapped up the tight end nearly a full second before the ball arrived. While it appeared to be an obvious penalty, no flag was thrown. Flacco and Njoku had their hands in the air wondering why no laundry hit the ground, but they would not get any satisfaction.

The Browns were hoping to turn things around in the second half, but Flacco threw two interceptions in the third quarter that were both returned for touchdowns by the Texans. That turned a manageable deficit into a one-sided blowout. Nelson returned one of the interceptions 82 yards for a score and Christian Harris followed with a 36-yard TD return less than two minutes later.

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The Browns had gotten off to a hopeful start in the game, as running back Kareem Hunt scored on a 1-yard TD run in the first quarter and then caught an 11-yard TD pass from Flacco in the second.

Texans news: CJ Stroud’s electric first half vs. Browns has fans going bonkers

The rookie quarterback exploded in the first half of his playoff debut.

The Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns are battling it out in the opening game of the 2024 NFL Playoffs, and Texans quarterback CJ Stroud was dominant in the first half.

Stroud threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns as the Texans took control of the game, and fans are going wild:

CJ Stroud was ELECTRIC in the first half of his first playoff game.11/16, 236 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT, HE IS A ROOKIE

Early in the fourth quarter, the Texans are crushing the Browns 45-14.

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Last week, Stroud and the Texans clinched their playoff berth by topping the Colts. CJ Stroud finished that game 20-26 for 264 yards and two touchdowns. The first play of the game for the Texans on offense was a 75-yard pass from Stroud to Nico Collins for a touchdown, and that got the ball rolling. The performance from Stroud ended up putting him into elite NFL rookie company.

With the two touchdowns and zero interceptions on Saturday, Stroud tied the single-season record for rookies for games with two or more touchdowns and zero picks.

The Texans are peaking at the right time. They won seven of their final 10 games to reach this point. Head coach Demeco Ryans has talked about his team’s mindset. Ryans has set up a culture where the Texans’ players believe in themselves and will not be denied on any given Sunday (or Saturday). That belief and mindset, not to mention landing a talent like Stroud at quarterback, is now paying dividends for the Texans.