'Air's a little different' as Browns return to playoffs with wild card game at Texans
HOUSTON — Myles Garrett remembers the feeling the first time he prepared to play in a playoff game with the Browns in January 2021. The first thing he recalls about that is what it lacked.
"Well, there were less fans, there were less people," Garrett recalled Thursday of the 2020 playoffs. "I mean, guys couldn't really get a good feel for what it meant to be in the playoffs. That atmosphere, that excitement, not only in the locker room, but in the city. Going into the game, the air's a little different."
That year, the Browns went on the road then into a mostly empty Heinz Field in Pittsburgh and beat a mostly disinterested Steelers team to win the AFC wild card game. The next week, it was again a mostly empty Arrowhead Stadium, only it was a very much interested Kansas City Chiefs that ended that team's playoff run in the divisional round.
The Browns go back on the road to open the playoffs at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in an AFC wild card game. However, it will neither be a mostly empty road venue in Houston nor a mostly disinterested Texans team they must overcome if they want just their second playoff win since returning to the league in 1999.
"It's the same game, nothing's changed, but you feel that little electricity in the air before kickoff," Garrett said. "I think everyone's using that to our benefit knowing that we're here through all the adversity. Why not make a little uproar happen while we're here? We're trying to get this thing going for the long distance."
Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was a rookie head coach when they made the playoffs. Although a positive COVID test precluded him from coaching the game in Pittsburgh, he was back for the Kansas City loss.
Stefanski will be the playoff — and head-coaching — graybeard in Saturday's matchup. The Texans are being led by first-year coach DeMeco Ryans, who is the fifth rookie head coach to also have a rookie starting quarterback — C.J. Stroud — and make the playoff since the 1970 merger.
"You know, I think for all of our players, coaches, you have a lot of rookies on the team, guys that haven't been in that type of situation," Stefanski said. "It's exciting to be a part of it, but it also goes back to doing all the little things that got you there and really focusing on fundamentals. Those are the type of things that you talk about with our young players."
The Browns return to the playoffs not lacking in experience with the postseason. They have four players on the active roster, including quarterback Joe Flacco, who have even won a Super Bowl.
However, there's another subset of Browns players like Garrett. Those dozen or so players can draw at least some of their past playoff experience from that 2020 season in Cleveland.
“As a player from the last playoffs? Definitely," Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward said. "I feel like I have a lot more experience, a lot more comfortable in the system and team that I'm in and just ready. Just feel ready to go out there and play.”
Ward was coming off a COVID positive when he was able to play in the wild card game in Pittsburgh. Now, he's dealing with a knee injury that has him listed as questionable to play against Houston.
Left guard Joel Bitonio was the opposite. He had to miss the opening win over the Steelers because of a positive COVID test, but was back for the Chiefs game.
That's just another reason why Saturday's game is going to provide something of new experience for the oldest-tenured Browns player.
“I definitely don't take it for granted because it's been long enough where you don't have a chance every year. You can think you're built for the future and you have an injury or something and that kind of derails your season," Bitonio said. "So I'm so happy that we're back and I'm not taking it for granted to have another opportunity. 2020 was awesome and it was great to watch the guys win, but obviously you want to be a part of it, too, and you want to be out there in these wins, and now we're going to have full stadiums where it was a little bit less back in 2020.”
Individual matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett vs. Houston Texans OT Laremy Tunsil
Star power vs. star power. Elite vs elite. Superman vs., maybe, a little bit of Kryptonite. That's the best way to describe the times Saturday when the Browns All-Pro edge rusher is lined up opposite the Texans stellar left tackle, a rivalry that goes back to their days in the SEC. The first time the teams met on Christmas Eve, a 36-22 Browns win, Garrett lined up on the same side as Tunsil just 17 times out of 47 defensive snaps, compared to 30 times on the left side of the Browns defensive line. Tunsil has allowed, according to Next Gen Stats, just one pressure in 40 career NFL snaps against Garrett. It's not all been one-on-one blocking, but it's still been enough to keep the Browns edge rusher out of the backfield. Pressuring Stroud is certainly one of the key blocks in the Browns game plan. Getting Garrett going is central to that game plan.
Position group matchup: Cleveland Browns offensive line vs. Houston Texans defensive line
This positional matchup never really materialized in the first meeting between these two teams. Texans rookie defensive end Will Anderson Jr. did not play due to an ankle injury, and defensive end Jonathan Greenard couldn't finish the first series with his own ankle injury. While Anderson played the last couple of regular-season games, neither he nor Greenard practiced this week until Thursday. However, they were given the green light, which makes their presence something Browns tackles Geron Christian Sr. and James Hudson III have to account for every down. If they can keep those two from frequenting the backfield, that will give Flacco a chance to potentially replicate the performance he had the last time in Houston when he threw for 368 yards, including a franchise-record 265 yards to wide receiver Amari Cooper.
Coaching matchup of the game: Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz vs. Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik
Can Schwartz heat up the pressure on Stroud, who has struggled at times against it? Can Slowik help get Stroud into advantageous situations, including getting big-play receiver Nico Collins and talented tight end Dalton Schultz free? Does Schwartz up the man-to-man coverage because of his cornerback advantage against a quarterback who has struggled against man coverage? Does Slowik find other ways to exploit weakness in the NFL's top-ranked defense so that it doesn't all fall on his rookie quarterback? That's why this is the premier coaching matchup of the game.
Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns recall 2020 playoff appearance ahead of Texans wild card game
