The Houston Texans routed the Cleveland Browns by a score of 45-14 in their Wild Card Round playoff matchup on Saturday, and Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud set a massive record in the process.
With the victory, Stroud—who is 22 years and 102 days old—became the youngest signal-caller in NFL history to win a postseason game. The previous record was held by Michael Vick, who won a playoff game at 22 years and 192 days old with the Atlanta Falcons back in 2003.
“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,” Stroud said, via Cydney Henderson of USA Today. “There’s no me without my teammates. … We put it together and when we play complimentary football, we are hard to beat.”
Stroud went 16-for-21 with 274 yards and three touchdowns on the afternoon. He posted a passer rating of 157.2, just beneath the perfect passer rating of 158.3.
Houston led the Browns 24-14 at halftime and then turned things into a rout during the second half, outscoring Cleveland 21-0 over the final two quarters for a blowout win.
Stroud, who played his collegiate football at Ohio State, was selected by the Texans with the second overall pick of the NFL Draft last spring.
He made 15 starts during his rookie campaign, missing a couple of games due to a concussion. During his time on the field, he dazzled by throwing for 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 63.9 percent of his passes and registering a passer rating of 100.8. He also led the league by averaging 273.9 passing yards per game.
Thanks much in part to Stroud’s brilliant debut season, Houston shocked the world by going 10-7 and winning the AFC South division title. The Texans defeated the Indianapolis Colts in a winner-take-all game in the season finale to capture the crown. That came in spite of most people expecting Houston to finish in the basement of the division.
C.J. Stroud and Co.’s opponent in the Divisional Round of the playoffs is to be determined.
Want the latest NFL analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click here. Interested in reading storylines and analysis about the NBA? Check out our partner NBA Analysis Network.
