The Cleveland Browns found their late-season groove with Joe Flacco but the Houston Texans were not playing around. CJ Stroud was blazing hot for their offense with passes in tight windows. But, it was the secondary that shined and did the dirty work of preventing the opposing player's weapons from popping off. Christian Harris got a big pick on the veteran quarterback but it was all thanks to DeMeco Ryans.

The Texans head coach studied Joe Flacco well before their NFL Playoffs matchup. This meant that the Browns' offensive engine was in danger because, with every move he could pull, there was a counter. DeMeco Ryans showed off his insane brilliance in micromovements when he talked to Christian Harris. He unveiled how to expose Flacco, via Patrick Storm of Fox Sports.

“Play the corner man. As soon as he snaps, step in front of him and go pick. I'm telling you,” were the instructions that the Texans head honcho dropped.

Everything went according to plan for Harris. Flacco saw the window for the pass and slung the ball. Little did he know, a swift defender came in and ripped the ball straight out of the air. 

The Texans' defensive masterclass

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This was not the only big-time play that Harris had in this game. He had seven tackles with one of them being assisted. The other play that 48 executed well? It was a sack that took down Flacco. Harris was not the only one making plays on defense. Steven Nelson also noticed the tells in the Browns' play calls. This meant that he knew where Flacco was going to pass, who he was passing to, and what play needed to be made at that moment. All of this mixed with his fast decision-making led to another interception.

CJ Stroud may be getting a lot of love. But, the Texans' defense balled out in the Wild Card win. They limited the Browns to 4.6 yards per play. Flacco was also shaken up with four sacks on him. The best part was that they did not allow the Browns to salvage their plays at all. This led to their opponents going zero of four in fourth downs.