Photograph: Sue Ogrocki/AP
As the regular season draws to a close, we’ll take a look each Friday at a game likely to affect the playoff race, along with the teams whose fortunes are rising and falling. And, so we don’t neglect the also-rans, we’ll see which teams are in the hunt for next year’s No 1 pick.
Game of the week
Cleveland Browns (9-5) v Houston Texans (8-6)
Related: Stafford’s LA Rams hold off Saints to surge forward in NFC playoff race
Story of the season: The postseason is coming up fast as two AFC contenders meet on Christmas Eve with huge ramifications for their playoff chances while the quarterback conveyor belt whirs frantically in the background throwing out sub-plots with abandon. Joe Flacco’s Cleveland coda continues apace after a fraught comeback hauled the Browns to nine wins, a win at Houston and they are all but in the hat come January. Meanwhile, DeMeco Ryans continues to shine in Houston. The head coach’s gutsy call to back the 35-year-old Case Keenum to win on his first start in two years paid off big against Tennessee, while the Browns can claim an assist for inspiring Ryans with Flacco’s revival. Houston are outside looking in as the eighth seed but another win will see them rise into the hallowed top seven.
What the Browns need to do to win: Focus has to remain on protecting Flacco, aged 39 next month. Any slip could lead to catastrophe but the big men have done a superb job of protecting the quarterback work so far. Flacco is unlocking David Njoku’s potential: the tight end has almost 200 yards and three touchdowns in the past two games compared to 40 yards per game before that. Keep it up. Defensively the backfield must keep swarming to prey on mistakes from Keenum. The league’s best passing defense – giving up only 158.9 yards per game – can forge an easy advantage by stifling this avenue. Myles Garrett and the pass rush unloading on the backup will also lead to errors or at worst a ton of lost yardage.
What the…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl-playoff-race-browns-texans-090051966.html
Author : The Guardian
Publish date : 2023-12-22 09:00:51
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