The Houston Texans (3-5) and Cleveland Browns (5-4) took the field on Sunday afternoon after a tumultuous shutdown of air travel happened on behalf of the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday. Alas, NFL teams were able to safely navigate their ways to one another's stadiums after the shutdown was listed, and we thankfully had a football game to play.
As a result, both teams faced off at a time where the AFC is seeing a muddy playoff picture in terms of lower-tiered teams, including both the Texans and the Browns. With a win, Houston would creep even closer to the New England Patriots (5-5) for the chance of landing the seventh seed at worst in any future postseason scenario.
Unfortunately, Houston plummeted in the second half of this contest and allowed Cleveland to rip off 27 unanswered points to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat. Here are 16 takeaways to sum up the catastrophe that was week 10 football for the Texans.
16 takeways from the Houston Texans' disaster of a loss against the Cleveland Browns
Nico Collins took over in the first half
Texans wide receiver Nico Collins took it the the Browns' secondary in the first half, igniting for eight catches, 92 yards and one touchdown catch. His touchdown grab tied him with a franchise legend in former tight end Owen Daniels for third-most scoring receptions in franchise history (29).
C.J. Stroud continued his aerial brilliance in the first half
Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud staked an early claim for a back-to-back AFC Offensive Player of the Week situation in the first half against the Browns. Stroud went 15-19 (79%) for 190 passing yards, two touchdowns, one interception (should've been DPI), 18 rushing yards and 121.5 passer rating.
C.J. Stroud's interception total grew in Cleveland
While Stroud his been brilliant through the air early on against Cleveland, he did have one big hiccup near the conclusion of the second quarter. Stroud was intercepted on a messy play intended to target Collins, which led to a Browns interception on a tipped pass. This marked the third interception for Stroud since week six against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Houston's secondary continued to be a liability
After virtually smothering the Browns' offense throughout the majority of the first half, Houston's secondary fell flat on their face when they allowed a 65-yard deep ball to Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy with about 5:00 left in the second quarter. Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson then finished the drive with a short touchdown run on the very next play.
Woody Marks left the game after a head injury
In a scary moment for everyone on the field, Texans running back Woody Marks took a hard blow to the helmet on a rushing attempt during Houston's second offensive drive to begin the second half. Marks was able to walk off of the field after staying down for a while, and immediately went into the blue medical tent.
M.J. Stewart didn't have the best defensive performance
The struggles for certain members of the Texans' secondary continued, as safety M.J. Stewart added to the list of headaches caused by his side of the football. Not only was he the defensive back that allowed the 65-yard pass to Jeudy in the first half, he was also the one who essentially gifted the Browns their second touchdown of the game by generating a facemask penalty as Cleveland was already marching down the field midway through the third quarter.
Texans' offense completely shut down in the third quarter by Browns' defense
In a dramatic turn of events, Houston's offense was completely neutralized by Cleveland's defensive pressure in the third quarter. After hard launching into the ball game with 245 total yards of offense in the first half, the Texan were held to -6 total yards in the third quarter.
Texans allowed 20 unanswered points from the Browns
After the Texans racked up a 17-0 lead after the first quarter, the Browns responded with a 20-0 run from that point until late in the third quarter.
Aireontae Ersery retakes the lead for most penalized player in the NFL
Texans left tackle Aireontae Ersery had his second penalty of the game by the fourth quarter, which gave him the lead (again) for the most penalties by a single player in the NFL.
Dalton Schultz' first touchdown reception of the year comes at a crucial time
After Houston's offense laid dormant throughout the third quarter, it reappeared in the fourth quarter in the form of a red zone touchdown grab by Texans tight end Dalton Schultz over the middle of the field. The score gave Houston the lead again.
Texans allowed Browns to dominate on third down
Until the 5:12 mark in the fourth quarter, Houston's defense allowed Cleveland's offense to have a 7-14 (50%) rate on third down.
Calen Bullock's second interception of the year stops Cleveland's scoring attempt in the fourth quarter
Texans safety Calen Bullock picked off Watson late in the fourth quarter as the Browns were closing in on the end zone. It was his second of the season thus far.
Controversial call gives Browns premium field position late in the fourth quarter
With 1:18 left in the fourth quarter, Texans cornerback Kamari Lassiter was flagged for a hit on a defenseless receiver penalty that put the Browns at Houston's 35 yard line. The penalty was debatable, given that Lassiter's contact to the helmet area happened indirectly as he was seemingly going for the football the whole time.
Texans' defense allows another late scoring drive in a two-minute drill scenario
Just like in previous match ups against the Buffalo Bills in week one, Indianapolis Colts in week three and the Dallas Cowboys in week four, Houston's defense allowed the opposing offense to make their way down the field and score a touchdown in a scenario that could've won Houston the football game had they finished the job.
For the fourth time this season, the Texans eclipsed double-digit penalties (and it cost them)
Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans once again watched as his players accumulated over 10-plus penalties in a game. They were rung up for 13 penalties for 112 yards of loss. This is the fourth time on the season something like this has happened.
Texans fall to 3-6 in 27-24 loss to the Browns
In arguably the worst loss of the year (which we've said that at least three or four times now it seems), the Texans lost to the Browns 27-24 to drop to 3-6 on the campaign. This guarantees that Houston is now officially a worse team this year than they were last year (for those still holding out on that reality).
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