HOUSTON, TX — The NFL’s Wild Card Weekend is officially in the books, and only one Texas team managed to take care of business to move on to the Divisional Round. The Houston Texans defeated the Cleveland Browns at NRG Stadium in Houston last Saturday, 45-14. Meanwhile, the No. 2 seeded Dallas Cowboys put forth one of the worst playoff performances in team history against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday when the Cowboys were eliminated at home, 48-26.
Move over, Cowboys, because the Lone Star State might have a new dominant team. Saturday marked the 5th playoff win for Houston since the franchise’s introduction to the league in 2002. In that same stretch, “America’s Team” only managed to scrape together four. However, it’s not just the fact that the Texans won and the Cowboys lost. It’s how the two achieved the result.
On one side, Houston is a young, up-and-coming team with a new head coach and a rookie quarterback. What began as an electric game between two evenly matched teams quickly turned into a blowout. Houston secured victory behind a colossal performance from rookie quarterback CJ Stroud. The young quarterback finished the game with an NFL rookie playoff record 16/21 for 274 yards and three touchdowns. The Texans played lights out on defense and even put up two scores on back-to-back interception returns for touchdowns.
“You dominated,” Head Coach DeMeco Ryans said in his locker room speech after the win. “You dominated a really good football team…Complete game. Complete domination.”
Houston Texans in action against the Cleveland Browns on Wild Card Weekend 2024
(Credit: houstontexans.com)
The other side had a less-than-ideal outcome for a team with Super Bowl ambitions and a rapidly closing window to achieve that goal. The Dallas offense looked out of sync from the get-go, and the connection between Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb was inconsistent at best during the contest. The Cowboys only kickstarted something on offense once the Packers were already up 27-0 in the first half.
Defensively, Dallas could not stop first-year starter Jordan Love and the League’s youngest offense. Like the Texans, the Packers were supposed to be in a rebuilding year this season. They sometimes struggled in the meat of their schedule, and most NFL talking heads wrote Love off as a bust. However, since week 9, Jordan Love has 21 touchdowns to one interception and over 2,400 yards passing. The young quarterback figured things out quickly and carved up the Dallas defense on his way to a near-perfect quarterback ranking.
After Love's touchdown pass to Romeo Doubs made the score 48-16 midway through the 4th quarter, the Cowboys’ offense managed to score 16 more points before time expired, but it was all too little, too late. The loss not only embarrassed the Cowboys, who, up to that point, were undefeated in their last 16 home games but may force Jerry Jones to blow up the current organization to start over again.
Many believe Head Coach Mike McCarthy has to be done after the loss. With the likely exit of defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, Cowboys fans may be looking at a completely different Dallas team next season. To make matters worse, it's a contract year for players like Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parsons (who had the worst game of his career). It may be hard to commit to Prescott long-term after such a lackluster performance in the first half.
These playoffs may indicate a changing of the guard for the Lone Star State’s favorite football team. While the Cowboys let their fans down for what seems like the umpteenth time in a row, the Houston Texans are building something. Young players like CJ Stroud, Will Anderson Jr., and Tank Dell will continue to draw in more and more young NFL fans. Meanwhile, it seems like Dallas is back to the drawing board again. Don’t be surprised if you see many more Texans jerseys out and about in the future as this young team continues to impress.
The Houston Texans moved to the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs after the victory over the Cleveland Browns. The Texans face Lamar Jackson and the AFC’s No. 1 seeded Baltimore Ravens on Saturday, January 20, in Baltimore. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily
Required
Post a comment to this article here: