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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Frankie Taddeo

NFL Fans Can’t Get Enough of This Joe Flacco-C.J. Stroud Playoff Shootout

Joe Flacco NFL CJ Stroud Texans Browns (Organization)

The Houston Texans and Cleveland Browns lit up the scoreboard in the first half of their wild-card showdown at NRG Stadium on Saturday.

With quarterbacks C.J. Stroud and Joe Flacco leading the charge, the two teams combined for an incredible 465 yards, 19 first downs and 38 points through the first 30 minutes of action.

In the first half of his first career NFL playoff start, Stroud completed 11 of 16 passes (69%) for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Stroud's three touchdown dimes tied the NFL rookie record for touchdown passes in a single game—and the quarterback did it in just two quarters with a chance to break the record in the second half.

On the flip side, Flacco was up to the task, completing 15 of 19 passes (79%) for 172 yards and one touchdown.

The NFL world was buzzing in awe of the production of the starting gun-slingers that resulted in the Texans taking a 24–14 lead into halftime:

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