Browns GM pulls classy move after Cleveland’s loss to Texans
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry received praise after his team’s season ended Saturday in a 45-14 loss to the Houston Texans.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72721361/1707888183.0.jpg)
The Browns executive made sure to acknowledge each and every one of the team’s players, coaches, and staff as they walked into the locker room at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
The Browns saw their season go up in smoke against the Texans after entering Wild Card Weekend as one of the hottest teams in the NFL.
Browns quarterback Joe Flacco entered the contest 4-0 in his last four starts. The Comeback Player of the Year candidate led Cleveland to an unexpected playoff berth. However, Flacco threw back-to-back pick-sixes in the third quarter Saturday to seal the Browns’ losing fate.
The 2023 season went much better for Cleveland than some would have expected given the circumstances. Season-ending injuries to Pro Bowlers Nick Chubb and Deshaun Watson could have easily been the death knell for the team’s playoff hopes.
Instead, the Browns and their vaunted defense held firm and finished 11-6. The Browns were even pegged as the favorites over the Texans to advance to the Divisional Round — a designation that ended up making some analysts look silly in hindsight.
The Browns didn’t have enough left in the tank to beat the Texans. But the fact that they even got to this point clearly earned them their GM’s respect.
READ MORE:
Mahomes leads Chiefs past Dolphins 26-7 in frigid conditions; Texans rout Browns
The reigning league MVP found Rashee Rice eight times for 130 yards and a touchdown in the wild-card playoff game, and Isiah Pacheco added 89 yards rushing and another score, sending the Chiefs (12-6) past the Dolphins for the first time in four postseason meetings.
Harrison Butker added four field goals for the defending Super Bowl champs.
The injury-depleted Dolphins (11-7) looked nothing like the dynamic offense that led the league in yards during the regular season. Tua Tagovailoa was pressured relentlessly by the NFL’s second-ranked defense, wide receiver Tyreek Hill had a 53-yard TD catch but was otherwise shut down in his return to Kansas City, and the Dolphins finished with just 264 yards in all.
The Chiefs won their 15th consecutive home playoff game. But they will head to Buffalo next week if the Bills beat the Steelers on Monday in a game pushed back a day by a blizzard. Otherwise, the Chiefs will host Houston.
TEXANS 45, BROWNS 14
HOUSTON (AP) — Rookie C.J. Stroud became the youngest quarterback to win a playoff game, throwing for 274 yards and three touchdowns as Houston routed Cleveland.
Stroud, the second overall pick in the draft last April, picked apart Cleveland’s vaunted defense, throwing touchdown passes of 15 yards to Nico Collins, 76 to Brevin Jordan and 37 to Dalton Schultz before halftime as the Texans (11-7) built a 24-14 lead.
Houston’s defense took over after that, with Steven Nelson and Christian Harris returning interceptions for touchdowns on consecutive drives in the third quarter to extend the lead to 38-14.
The picks by 38-year-old Joe Flacco were too much for the Browns (11-7) to overcome. Flacco finished with 307 yards passing and had a touchdown pass in the first half.
