As the Houston Texans prepare to host the Cleveland Browns in Saturday's Wild Card matchup, there are some key matchups that could swing this game in the Texans' direction.

The Browns struggled mightily to get anything going on the ground in their first matchup against Houston. However, after the Texans struggled to contain Jonathan Taylor last week, you have to think Cleveland will see some opportunities to get their run game going this time around.

And one of the reasons for that revolves around one of the biggest strengths of their team. Time of possession. The Browns lead the league in this category, and if they get the rushing attack going, they can keep the ball out of CJ Stroud's hands.

Cleveland also leads the league in passing yards against and total yards against. Stroud didn't play in the first matchup between these two teams, so a lot of what happened a few weeks ago can be thrown out the window. But there's no way around it, moving the ball against the Cleveland defense is the toughest challenge in the NFL, especially through the air.

With that in mind, the health of Houston's receivers will be paramount in this game. After Nico Collins' massive showing (9 rec, 195 yards, 1TD) against the Colts, the Browns will do everything they can to keep him from wrecking the game. The Texans can't have another performance like last week, when no receiver other than Collins had more than 10 yards receiving.

The good news for Houston fans is that Robert Woods was back at practice on Wednesday, and hopefully Noah Brown is able to return to practice later this week and play on Saturday. Both players missed the Colts game.

Dalton Schultz led the Texans in receiving yards in the first game against Cleveland, that can't happen this time around if the Texans expect to win.

Texans defense

Not only was CJ Stroud missing from the Browns game a few weeks ago, but so were Will Anderson and Jonathan Greenard (left early, ankle). Not to mention Sheldon Rankins. Upon further review, he did play in the game, but you've wouldn't have known it from the stat sheet with zero tackles, zero QB hits, zero assists, and zero sacks. It's fair to assume he received some extra attention with Anderson and Greenard out.

While the Texans listed Greenard and Anderson as not participating in practice on Wednesday, it's good news that they were in attendance. Joe Flacco has a thrown an interception in every game he's played this season, with 2 against Houston, and 3 against the Bears.

Getting some pressure from the Texans d-line could help force some turnovers on Saturday. Plus, Amari Cooper went bananas against Houston's secondary recently (11 catches, 265 yards, 2TDs). Limiting the amount of time Flacco has to throw could greatly help the Texans corners.

So who comes out on top in this Wild Card matchup?

Don't miss the video above for our early preview, and our predictions for the game.

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