The Houston Texans will have to once again keep their playoff hopes alive without C.J. Stroud

It looks like C.J. Stroud is out once again, as he'll miss the second-straight game for the Houston Texans due to his concussion. He received the injury during his meeting with the New York Jets and had to sit out last week against the Tennesee Titans as a result. Case Keenum was tabbed to replace Stroud after prior reports suggested that season-long backup Davis Mills would get the start.

Now, Stroud is out again and it looks like Keenum will once again get the start for the Texans, who are 8-6 and tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts atop the AFC South. ESPN reports that unless things change, Keenum will once again get the call to come in for relief of the Texans' prized rookie quarterback.

Keenum, who went to college at Houston University and started his career with the Texans over a decade ago, will hopefully look much better against the Cleveland Browns than he did against the Tennessee Titans, but as the Browns defense is much better than the Titans, that may not go as planned. Keenum dinked and dunked his way down the field, taking what he was given and rarely anything more.

That may not work against the Browns, and we are once again wondering why the Texans won't start Mills, a quarterback with a bigger arm and the ability to generate more big plays deep than Keenum. Yet, the Texans seem to want to go with Keenum, under the idea, more than likely, that he doesn't turn the ball over nearly as much.

Except against the Titans, Keenum threw a terrible pass that was easily picked off. And the Browns are going to be able to get after Keenum far more than the Titans could, making this a very challenging matchup for the Texans to prepare for.

This is going to be a challenging win for the Texans, but with three games left and a shot at a first-round home game on the line, this isn't a matchup they can afford to lose.