HOUSTON — There was so much optimism, the hope that maybe, just maybe, the Cleveland Browns could be a Super Bowl contender.
Not only were those hopes put to rest on Saturday, but they came huddling back to earth with a resounding crash.
The Browns' magical season came to a humiliating end with a 45-14 loss to the Houston Texans in the AFC wild-card round of the NFL playoffs. It marks the team's worst postseason defeat since 1968, when the Baltimore Colts soundly beat a group led by Hall of Famers Leroy Kelly and Paul Warfield 34-0 with a trip to Super Bowl III on the line.
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This Cleveland squad may not have been quite as star-studded, but it still featured men like Myles Garrett and the league's No. 1-ranked defense. But on this weekend, that defense was absolutely torched by rookie C.J. Stroud, the former Ohio State standout who has taken the NFL by storm from the moment he stepped on the field.
In the biggest game of his professional life, Stroud answered the call, completing 16 of 21 throws for 274 yards and three touchdowns (all in the first half) with a near-perfect 157.2 passer rating. Nico Collins was once again his favorite target, notching six receptions for 96 yards including a 15-yard TD catch that gave Houston a 10-7 lead late in the fourth quarter.
Early on, it looked like this game could be a back-and-forth track meet, especially when Kareem Hunt's 11-yard touchdown grab (his second score of the game) put the Browns back on top 14-10 in the second. But on the very first play of the very next series, Stroud found Brevin Jordan near the right sideline, and the tight end dashed 76 yards to the end zone to give Houston the advantage again.
It was an advantage Houston would not relinquish. The Browns would never score again, systematically falling apart along the way.
The momentum truly began to shift on the next series, when an obvious pass interference against David Njoku was not called and Cleveland was forced to punt. Stroud continued to have all the time in the world to throw (he wasn't sacked once) and eventually found a wide-open Dalton Schultz for a 37-yard touchdown to make it 24-14 at halftime.
Still, the Browns had a chance to cut into the lead early in the third quarter, as Joe Flacco lead the offense into Houston territory. Then, the back-breaker, as a wayward Flacco first-down throw was easily intercepted by Steven Nelson and taken 82 yards for a score.
Adding insult to injury, the Browns were forced to go for it on fourth down in their own end on the next series down 17, and Flacco was again picked off by Christian Harris for what this time was a 36-yard TD. The Texans would mostly take their foot off the gas from there, although Devin Singletary would add a 19-yard touchdown to produce the final tally.
Flacco, a former Super Bowl MVP who tormented Cleveland in his years with the Baltimore Ravens, came into the playoffs as one of the NFL's best stories. Out of the league in late November, he was signed to the Browns' practice squad following an injury to starting QB Deshaun Watson, and eventually took hold of the reins with a 4-1 record that clinched a postseason berth.
Now, his brief Cleveland career could very well be over, ending on the sourest of sour notes. While the 38-year-old threw for 307 yards and a TD, two very poor throws led to two pick-sixes, both of which proved to be fatal daggers in the heart of the Browns' 2023 campaign.
It was a year where it seemed everything went right even when everything went wrong, from the injuries to the inconsistencies to the NFL-leading 37 turnovers. Maybe we should've expected it to catch up to them at some point, but it's hard to imagine anyone picturing it concluding with the sourest of sour tastes.
Now, an offseason filled with questions: Can the Browns keep this momentum and become a playoff mainstay, or will they regress like they did in the Baker Mayfield era. Speaking of that, what will the quarterback position look like with Flacco likely gone and Deshaun Watson recovering from a major injury? Will Nick Chubb return to form and aid what was an up-and-down running game?
And finally, even with plenty of success to build upon, how much pressure is on head coach Kevin Stefanski and general manager Andrew Berry to take this franchise to the next level?
All of those questions will be answered in due time. One thing's for sure: If the Browns indeed want to get to that elusive Super Bowl, they have a lot more work to do.