C.J. Stroud did not disappoint in his NFL playoff debut.
The Rookie of the Year favorite carried over his remarkable first NFL season into the postseason in leading the Houston Texans to a 45-14 win over the Cleveland Browns. He threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns — all of them in the first half — against a Browns defense that was best against the pass in the regular season.
Houston’s defense, meanwhile, shut things down after halftime with two pick 6s of Joe Flacco on consecutive possessions to put the game out of reach. Houston advances to next weekend’s divisional round as Stroud gets his postseason career off to a 1-0 start.