Believe it or not, the Cleveland Browns have now won their tenth game of the season with a rout of the Houston Texans. Minus a couple of garbage-time touchdowns that pulled the score closer to 36-22, the Browns, led by quarterback Joe Flacco and wide receiver Amari Cooper, had themselves a very Merry Christmas Eve on the road.
With the win, the Browns sit at 10-5 and have a firm grip on the fifth seed and top wildcard spot in the AFC. While they cannot officially clinch their playoff berth this week, they will have the opportunity to do so in front of their home crowd at Cleveland Browns Stadium on Thursday night against the New York Jets.
We are not looking ahead to that matchup just yet, however, as there is plenty to celebrate and discuss from this Week 16 beatdown of Case Keenum and the Texans. In this joyous 4 Downs filled with holiday spirit, here is what stood out the most from this dominant Cleveland win over Houston.
1st Down: Amari Cooper's future in Cleveland no longer in doubt
Entering the season, the Browns had drafted Cedric Tillman in the third round and acquired Elijah Moore from the Jets. Many thought that the $20 million cap hit of Amari Cooper could price him off of the roster beyond 2023.
However, after this season and this game, Cooper has proven that he is simply not replaceable given the current state of the wide receiver room and the production he contributes to this offense.
Today, he became the first Cleveland wide receiver to rack up back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in franchise history. He also broke the Browns’ franchise record for most receiving yards in a game on this Christmas Eve as well, breaking Josh Gordon’s decade-old record.
All-in-all, Cooper finished with an astounding 265 yards receiving and two touchdowns on 11 catches against the Texans.
Lock Cooper into your roster predictions for next year. $20 million cap hit or not, the veteran receiver is simply not replaceable.
2nd Down: The run game is what it is
It’s time to call it what it is. This Cleveland ground attack stinks. It’s not good.
Instead of hoping the Browns can fix it or that it will turn around, it’s time to realize that Cleveland’s hope offensively lies solely behind the arm of Joe Flacco and the mind of Kevin Stefanski to create a gameplan to win despite the woes in the rushing attack.
Can Kareem Hunt get you a goalline touchdown or a needed short-yardage conversion? Sure. Can Jerome Ford create an explosive play every once in a while? Yeah. However, there is no down-to-down effectiveness to be seen from this ground attack in Cleveland.
And it’s time to stop pretending there is any other answer than a miraculous recovery and return from Nick Chubb.
3rd Down: Za'Darius Smith's elite pressure numbers finally translate to sacks
Za’Darius Smith has not had a down year by any stretch of the word. Entering this Week 16 matchup against the Texans, Smith sat 11th in Pass Rush Win Rate and 22nd in total pressures (according to PFF). However, these great pressure numbers had not translated to sacks, entering the game with just 3.5 sacks on the season.
He left this game against the Texans with two sacks, two tackles for loss, and a batted ball.
Smith has been everything the Browns hoped he would be when they traded a pair of Day 3 picks for him this past Spring. Sometimes the sacks just don’t fall, as Myles Garrett has seen over the past month despite elite pass rushing numbers.
For Smith today, however, he got his box score to look quite a bit prettier.
4th Down: Browns can make a run with Joe Flacco
Joe Flacco has started four games for the Browns. In those games, he has thrown for a total of 1,307 yards. This is the first time in his career that he has stacked three straight 300-plus yard games at the age of 38.
The interceptions decreased in this game against the Texans as well, as one was on a last-second heave to end the half due to an injury to kicker Dustin Hopkins. Against the Texans, Flacco threw for an astounding 368 yards and three touchdowns in a big Week 16 win.
If Flacco can continue to play like this, the Browns will not only clinch a playoff berth but can make a deep run in the playoffs. Their defense is more than good enough. Their coaching is well-equipped to keep the team locked in.
With two games left to go in the regular season, Flacco has a chance to solidify himself as a Cleveland legend. And then the real fun begins.
Extra Point: So uh... about the kicking situation
So the Browns do not have an emergency kicker.
It did not hurt them today, and they are not going to roster two kickers. But this is a situation that needs to be monitored this week as we get more news on the hamstring injury of Dustin Hopkins.
The Browns did not kick an extra point or a field goal after the injury to Hopkins. They did not trust punter Corey Bojorquez to attempt any of the opportunities that would have been a cheap shot for Hopkins.
Then Bojorquez went down as well and safety D’Anthony Bell took over kickoff duties for the Browns.
There is no need to panic at this point, but eyes and ears will be tuned into the kicking situation.
