C.J. Stroud makes history following the Texans annihilation of the Browns as he becomes the youngest QB ever to win a playoff game

The Houston Texans beat the Cleveland Browns 45-15 in the Wildcard Round.

C.J. Stroud makes history following the Texans annihilation of the Browns as he becomes the youngest QB ever to win a playoff game

C.J. Stroud (via cj7stroud on Instagram)

The Houston Texans beat the Cleveland Browns 45-14 in the Wildcard Round of the playoffs. The game was nothing short of entertaining as a young team out of whom nothing was expected at the start of this season has now made it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

C.J. Stroud, the second pick in the 2023 NFL Draft was doubted from the start, his stock slumped to number 2 because he got bad scores on a ‘test’ in the run-up to the draft. Today, that same man threw for 3 touchdowns and 274 yards and is just two wins closer to winning the Super Bowl in his rookie season.

YouTube video

With today’s victory against the Browns, C.J. Stroud becomes the youngest quarterback in NFL history at 22 years and 102 days of age to win a playoff game. The record was previously held by Michael Vick who achieved the feat in 2002 when he beat Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers at the age of 22 and 192 days old by leading the Falcons to the Divisional Round.

FS Video

The second pick in the 2023 NFL Draft could not have asked for a better rookie year. Following the game, he expressed gratitude for the position he finds himself in right now. 

I'm blessed to be in the position that I am in and blessed enough to be playing at a high level right now. We just got to keep it going. There's no me without my teammates...We put it together and when we play complimentary football, we are hard to beat.
Stroud was quoted via USA Today

C.J. Stroud has earned his stripes in the Texans’ locker room with his first playoff victory

The Texans’ dominant win over the Browns marks the team’s first playoff victory since 2020. Stroud was right indeed, when the team plays complimentary football, they are hard to beat and that is exactly what the Texans showed fans tonight.

The defense and offense were firing on all cylinders, there was flawless execution across the board, and after tonight’s showing, it is hard to count the possibility of this team making the Super Bowl because they played at such a high-level tonight.

C.J. Stroud
C.J. Stroud (via Imago)

Stroud finished the game with a passer rating of 157.2. The momentum gradually shifted in the team’s favor as the game went on, the defining moment was when the Texans’ defense recorded back-to-back interceptions on Joe Flacco, it was at that moment, they had successfully broken down the Browns.

Owing to their comfortable lead, Stroud was benched for a significant part of the fourth quarter. Davis Mills took over and managed to finish the game off. You know a team is good when they have a big enough lead to bench their starting QB in a playoff game.

This is just the beginning for Stroud who is a strong candidate to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year, tonight showed fans one thing. The Houston Texans have officially arrived.

In case you missed it: