Cleveland Browns fans had high hopes of their team emerging with a victory in their Wild Card game with the Texans at Houston's NRG Stadium. However, the Browns were upset after they saw their team fall behind by a 24-14 margin at halftime. While the team had issues containing the Texans offense, they were upset to see referees miss an obvious pass interference call that hurt their team quite a bit.

On the play, veteran quarterback Joe Flacco tried to hit Browns tight end David Njoku with a pass near the sideline. As Njoku prepared to make the catch, Houston defensive back Steven Nelson wrapped up the tight end nearly a full second before the ball arrived. While it appeared to be an obvious penalty, no flag was thrown. Flacco and Njoku had their hands in the air wondering why no laundry hit the ground, but they would not get any satisfaction.

The Browns were hoping to turn things around in the second half, but Flacco threw two interceptions in the third quarter that were both returned for touchdowns by the Texans. That turned a manageable deficit into  a one-sided blowout. Nelson returned one of the interceptions 82 yards for a score and Christian Harris followed with a 36-yard TD return less than two minutes later.

RECOMMENDED (Article Continues Below)
Nick Chubb rehab news 2024.

Nick Meyer ·

Offensive lineman Germain Ifedi in a Cleveland Browns jersey swap next to the logo for the Cleveland Browns

Ben Strauss ·

Cleveland Browns logo with Nick Chubb

Andrew Meyers ·

The Browns had gotten off to a hopeful start in the game, as running back Kareem Hunt scored on a 1-yard TD run in the first quarter and then caught an 11-yard TD pass from Flacco in the second.

The Browns were unable to sustain that early success.