Texans, led by rookie QB Stroud, return to playoffs for 1st time since 2019 against Browns, Flacco

CLEVELAND (11 6) at HOUSTON (10 7) Saturday, 4:30 p.m. EST, NBC OPENING LINE: Browns by 2 1/2, . AGAINST THE SPREAD: Cleveland 10 6 1; Houston 9 8. SERIES RECORD: Tied 7 7. LAST MEETING: Cleveland beat Houston 36 22 on Dec. 24 in Houston. LAST WEEK: Browns lost to Bengals 31 14; Texans beat Colts 23 19.

BROWNS OFFENSE: OVERALL (16), RUSH (12), PASS (19), SCORING (10). BROWNS DEFENSE: OVERALL (1), RUSH (11), PASS (1), SCORING (13). TEXANS OFFENSE: OVERALL (12), RUSH (23), PASS (7), SCORING (14). TEXANS DEFENSE: OVERALL (14), RUSH (6), PASS (23), SCORING (11). TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Browns minus 9; Texans plus 10.

BROWNS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Amari Cooper. He dominated the Texans for a career high 265 yards and two TDs on 11 catches in last month’s matchup despite playing with a heel injury. Cooper could have surpassed 300 yards, but the Browns pulled him early in the fourth quarter while leading by 29 before re inserting him.

Cooper sat out the past two games to rest his heel. He finished the regular season with 72 catches for 1,250 yards. TEXANS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR Nico Collins had nine catches for a career high 195 yards in the win over the Colts, highlighted by a 75 yard TD grab in the first quarter. He has a career high 1,297 yards receiving this season to join Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins as the only players in franchise history to reach 1,200 yards receiving.

Collins, who is in his third year in the NFL, has been great at home this season and has 906 yards receiving with seven TD catches in nine games in Houston. KEY MATCHUP: Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz vs. Texans rookie QB C.J. Stroud. Schwartz turned Cleveland’s defense from an also ran into the league’s best this season, and his main objectives will not only be getting pressure on Stroud by trying to confuse him by mixing up coverages.

Stroud missed the Dec. 24 game with a concussion. He has 4,108 yards passing this season for the third most by a rookie in NFL history. He has 23 touchdown passes with just five interceptions. KEY INJURIES: Browns Pro Bowl CB Denzel Ward hurt his knee in practice on Thursday and is questionable. ...

K Dustin Hopkins (hamstring) will miss his third straight game with an injury sustained when trying catch a Texans returner on a kickoff last month. Riley Patterson will handle kicking duties. … Browns S Grant Delpit returned to practice after missing four games but isn't ready to play. ... Browns WR Cedric Tillman (concussion) is also out.

... Houston rookie DE Will Anderson Jr. missed practice this week with an ankle injury but should play. … DE Jerry Hughes is dealing with an ankle injury that could keep him out this week. … DE Jonathan Greenard has missed the past two games with an ankle injury but could return. SERIES NOTES: This is the third meeting between these teams in the past 13 months that are forever linked by Houston’s blockbuster trade of star quarterback Deshaun Watson to Cleveland before last season.

… Cleveland has won the past four games in the series. … Houston’s most recent win came in a 29 13 victory in 2018 that was the team’s fifth straight win in the series. … These teams first met in Houston’s inaugural season in 2002 when Cleveland got a 34 17 win. STATS AND STUFF: The Browns are making just their third playoff appearance since their 1999 expansion rebirth, but second in four seasons under coach Kevin Stefanski.

… On their most recent playoff visit, the Browns won their first road game since 1968. … Stefanski is 10 0 vs. the AFC South. … Browns QB Joe Flacco’s seven postseason road wins are tied for the most in league history. Tom Brady also has seven. … This will be Flacco’s 16th playoff start.

He’s 10 5. … Flacco is 4 1 with Cleveland and has passed for 1,616 yards and 13 TDs in five games since debuting for the Browns on Dec. 3. Both are league highs since Week 13. … Flacco passed for 368 yards and 3 TDs in Cleveland’s win over Houston last month. … Remarkably, the Browns led the NFL with 37 giveaways and were minus 9 in turnover differential.

Houston has committed a league low 14. … Browns DE Myles Garrett didn't get a sack in last month's matchup with Houston, and has just one in his past five games. ... The Browns rested all their starters last week for the playoffs and missed a chance to tie the club record of 12 regular season wins.

... The Texans are AFC South champions and in the playoffs for the first time since 2019 after making a seven win improvement from last season. … Coach DeMeco Ryans is the first coach in franchise history to make the playoffs in his first season. … Houston is the first team in the Super Bowl era to win a division title with a rookie quarterback and first year head coach.

… RB Devin Singletary has a career high 898 yards rushing this season. He has three touchdown runs in his past four playoff games. … Noah Brown has a career high 567 yards receiving this season. … WR Robert Woods has 38 catches in six playoff games. … TE Dalton Schultz has 59 receptions for 635 yards and five touchdowns this season, and is one of three TEs with at least 50 catches, 500 yards receiving and five TD receptions in each of the past three seasons.

… LT Laremy Tunsil was selected to his fourth career Pro Bowl this season. … Greenard leads the team with a career high 12 1/2 sacks. … Anderson, the third overall pick in the draft, has six sacks in his past five home games. … LB Blake Cashman leads the Texans with a career high 104 tackles and nine for losses.

… LB Christian Harris has 100 tackles and seven tackles for losses this season. He has had at least five tackles in his past 10 games. … CB Derek Stingley leads the team with 13 passes defended and five interceptions. ___ AP NFL:.