The Houston Texans dominated in their first NFL playoff win in five years with a 45-14 win over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday. The Texans are the first team since the 1981 Giants to be listed with 200-1 or higher odds to win the Super Bowl in the preseason and advance to the Divisional Round of the playoffs.
Texans are the first team since the 1981 Giants to be listed with 200-1 odds or higher to win the Super Bowl in the preseason and advance to the Divisional Round. pic.twitter.com/W9wQ23kYNi
— Evan Abrams (@EvanHAbrams) January 14, 2024
As great as the Texans were as a team, rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud was the standout on the day. Stroud put on a show with 274 yards and three touchdowns, becoming the first rookie drafted in the first round to win his NFL debut in the playoffs since Mark Sanchez in 2009. Stroud is the fourth rookie quarterback to face the No. 1 defense in the playoffs and the only one to pick up a win.
With the Texans' win, rookie quarterbacks are now 12-18 SU in the playoffs since 1990 — including 5-11 SU over the last decade — and are 6-7-1 ATS on Wild Card Weekend in the last 20 years.
Stroud and head coach DeMeco Ryans are the first rookie quarterback and rookie coach duo to make the playoffs since Andrew Luck and Chuck Pagano in 2012. The only pairings of a first-year head coach and rookie quarterback to win a playoff game prior to today's win were Mark Sanchez/Rex Ryan and Joe Flacco/John Harbaugh, who each made the AFC Championship Game.
The Texans also crushed the public with their win over the Browns as 2-point home underdogs — 60% of the betting tickets and 54% of the money landed on Cleveland, according to the Action Network's public betting data. Stroud is now 5-2 ATS as an underdog and 3-5 ATS as a favorite in his 15 career starts.
