The Cleveland Browns will be on the road in their opening game of the 2023 postseason, visiting the Houston Texans, the surprising champion of the AFC South, in the 4/5 matchup on the AFC side of the Playoffs. It's an interesting matchup on many levels — two franchises who have had very little success in the postseason, one of whom is guaranteed a spot in the Divisional Round, either with a rookie quarterback or a quarterback who had been considered washed-up for half a decade before a surprising resurgence in Cleveland — including this one… can CJ Stroud continue leading a Texans aerial attack against a Browns defense that allowed fewer passing yards than any other team in the NFL this year?
The answer to that question could come down to health. The Texans are dealing with their share of injuries on offense — they could be without wide receivers Noah Brown and Robert Woods, and they're already down their rookie wideout Tank Dell, who was lost for the season with a fractured fibula on December 3rd — but the Browns are thin in the secondary. Cleveland safety Grant Delpit, who last played on December 10th, won't be making his return from a stint on the IR against the Texans, as was previously thought, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Despite playing in only 13 games this season, Delpit is second on the team in tackles. And then there's Denzel Ward, the Browns cornerback who was voted a Pro Bowler this year for the third time in his career, who made a surprising appearance on the Browns injury report today. However, it looks like Ward should be good for Saturday afternoon.
“#Browns coach Kevin Stefanski told reporters that CB Denzel Ward was limited today with the new knee injury,” tweet NFL Insider Ian Rapoport. He continued, saying, “I'm told he is OK.”
One of the big keys to the game that has been identified by various outlets and analysts will be the Browns ability to get pressure on CJ Stroud, something that Cleveland did at a top ten rate in the league this year. Although it's the case for most quarterbacks, Stroud's completion percentage and passer rating took serious dips to below average marks when pressured this season, and that's something that could be impacted by Ward's presence, or lack thereof, on Saturday afternoon.
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