How Texans' tactical edge over Browns could illuminate playoff blueprint
TEXANS ON TAP
19 December 2023
TEXANS ON TAP
The Houston Texans came away with a huge victory over the Titans on Sunday, and now set their sights on the Cleveland Browns, who come to Houston for an epic clash on Christmas Eve.
This game has massive playoff implications for both teams, as the Texans are on the bubble with the 8-seed (8-6), and the Browns currently hold a wild card spot as the 5 seed (9-5).
Both teams have been forced to play backup quarterbacks this season, and Joe Flacco has done a nice job, going 2-1 in his starts for Cleveland with Deshaun Watson out for the year. The Texans, on the other hand, hope to get rookie phenom CJ Stroud back this week, who's been in concussion protocol.
Speaking of Stroud, he will have his hands full dealing with the Browns' stout defense. Cleveland is first in yards against per game, as well as first in passing yards against. That's why getting receiver Nico Collins back from a calf injury could have a big impact on the outcome of the game. He appeared close to returning last week when he was working out before the game.
While the Browns are elite at stopping the pass, they're good against the run too. They're currently 11th in rushing yards against per game (102.21).
Texans running back Devin Singletary appears to have finally taken hold of the starting job, and his big catch and run in overtime helped secure the win for Houston on Sunday.
His use in the passing game appears to be increasing as well, he caught 4 passes for 49 yards against the Titans. This is an element of the offense that hasn't been utilized as much as we expected. Especially considering the Texans injuries at receiver. Checking passes down to the running back is a low risk way to pick up yards, and help a struggling running game (currently ranked 22nd).
What about the defense?
Jonathan Greenard has been a menace for opposing offensive linemen, he notched two more sacks last week and currently has 12.5 on the season. He'll have plenty of opportunities to add to that total this weekend with Joe Flacco flinging the ball all over the yard. He hasn't thrown less than 44 passes in all 3 of his starts.
What does Vegas think?
As of this writing, the Texans are 2.5 point home favorites and the point total is set at 42.5. We'll see if that changes once Stroud's status is revealed.
Don't miss the video above as we share our early preview of the matchup, predictions for the game, and much more!
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It's no secret that the Texans' offense hasn't been the same since Stefon Diggs went down with an ACL injury midseason. To make matters even worse, Houston lost Tank Dell for the year, suffering a catastrophic knee injury against the Chiefs just a few weeks ago.
In an attempt to replace that production, the Texans took a flier on the talented and temperamental Diontae Johnson, who has worn out his welcome with now four NFL teams.
That's right. Aaron Wilson is reporting that the Texans have cut Johnson and elevated Jared Wayne from the practice squad.
When Diontae Johnson, now cut by #Texans, was with #Ravens he was suspended for conduct detrimental for refusing to play. After games, if he wasn't involved to his liking, he was highly upset and had to be calmed down. Pattern continued in Houston and now he's off his third #NFL… https://t.co/wF3WnRfBvg
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) January 14, 2025
This move is disappointing on so many levels. Houston desperately needs a playmaker to pair with Nico Collins, that's why they took a chance on the disgruntled receiver to begin with.
And while it's fair to blame Johnson for displaying displeasure about his role in a playoff game in which his team won, there are two sides to every story.
I certainly don't put this on the Texans. Johnson has proven many times to be a bad teammate, and who wants to deal with that during a playoff push?
But the Texans did only target Johnson one time in the game, which he caught and led to a field goal. While receiver John Metchie got most of the playing time despite losing a fumble on the first offensive possession of the game, costing the Texans three points.
Metchie almost had another fumble shortly after the first one, but luckily the refs ruled an incomplete pass on the play. My guess is Johnson correctly thought he was a better option than Metchie, who hasn't done anything of significance at this point in his NFL career, and was playing like the moment was too big for him.
As Metchie was making mistakes, I found myself looking for Diontae on the field and wondering why he wasn't getting more opportunities with Metchie looking like a disaster.
What's even more concerning was Nico Collins not receiving a target until the second quarter, but that's a story for another day.
As we look back at the stat sheet, Johnson was only on the field for 16 snaps, by far the fewest of Texans receivers. Robert Woods and Xavier Hutchinson played a much bigger role than he did.
If the Texans could do things over, planning to get the ball to Collins and Johnson early could have gotten the offense rolling, instead of waiting for the broken play that sparked CJ Stroud and the offense in the second quarter.
But instead, the former Pro Bowler had almost no role in the game, complained about it following a huge win, and is now off the team.
He could have been a very valuable asset against the Chiefs, who will likely take away Collins, forcing Stroud to go to his other options. Now, those options will be players that couldn't crack the starting lineup on any decent team.
Plus, tight end Cade Stover broke his collarbone against the Chargers, and has been placed on IR. It might not seem like a big deal losing Stover, after all, he hasn't been a very big piece of the offense this year.
But he hauled in four passes against the Chargers, the second-most on the team, tied with Metchie. Which also shows you how much Houston needs help at receiver.
At the end of the day, the friction with Johnson probably couldn't have been avoided. It's hard to get newly acquired players comfortable with a new offense and quarterback. Especially if he has an attitude.
But the Texans did know his frustration with the Ravens was all about his role, or lack there of. One can't help but wonder what might have been had the Texans decided to get him the ball early, to try to get some buy-in from a talented player they desperately needed.
There's a reason Jared Wayne (who collided with Dell in KC, ending his season) is being added from the practice squad, and Johnson is a former Pro Bowler.
And kudos to Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans for taking a chance on Johnson. Often, this franchise has avoided rolling the dice on a volatile player.
They gave it a shot, it didn't work, and they cut him. It was a low risk move worth trying that didn't pay off. And for Johnson, good luck finding another team.
This dude clearly prioritizes complaining over winning football games. Have fun explaining your antics to other teams when trying to get a contract next season. If you can't play for John Harbaugh or DeMeco Ryans, that says a lot about the player.