NFL Week 16 Game Recap: Cleveland Browns 36, Houston Texans 22

2W96AY5 Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper (2) in action against the Houston Texans during an NFL football game between the Houston Texans and the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Dec 24, 2023, in Houston. (AP Photo/Maria Lysaker)

The Cleveland Browns had a monster day on offense to beat the Houston Texans 36-22 on Christmas Eve.

Offensive spotlight: Joe Flacco and Amari Cooper were virtually unstoppable all game. Flacco threw for 368 yards at 8.8 yards per attempt, and Cooper broke the Browns' franchise record for receiving yards in a single game, bringing in 11 catches for 265 yards. Cooper was targeted 15 times, six more than any other Browns receiver.

Defensive spotlight: Derek Stingley Jr. — somewhat counterintuitively — put on a solid performance despite Cooper setting records on the other side. Stingley was only responsible for two catches, though one resulted in a touchdown. He also came down with an interception and allowed a passer rating of 60.4 into his coverage. 

Rookie spotlight: The two rookies who featured most prominently in this game were guard Juice Scruggs for the Texans and receiver Cedric Tillman for the Browns.

Scruggs allowed just one pressure — pending grade review — though his run-blocking was less than perfect. Tillman was targeted twice, catching both of them for 13 yards. Both catches moved the chains.


Box Score

Passing
Cleveland Browns
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int Sacks Rtg
Joe Flacco 29.8 27 / 42 368 8.8 3 2 0 96.1
Dorian Thompson-Robinson 1.7 2 / 2 6 3.0 0 0 1 56.3
Houston Texans
Player Fantasy Comp/Att Yds YPA TD Int Sacks Rtg
Davis Mills 16.9 15 / 32 149 4.7 2 0 0 81.4
Case Keenum 0.5 17-Nov 62 3.6 0 2 3 31.6
Rushing
Cleveland Browns
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long Fum Lost
Joe Flacco 29.8 2 1 0.5 0 2 0
Kareem Hunt 9.6 7 11 1.6 1 4 0
Jerome Ford 9.3 15 25 1.7 1 10 0
Pierre Strong Jr. 2.2 5 22 4.4 0 8 0
Dorian Thompson-Robinson 1.7 1 -5 -5.0 0 0 0
Houston Texans
Player Fantasy Car Yds YPC TD Long Fum Lost
Davis Mills 16.9 2 9 4.5 0 9 0
Devin Singletary 9.3 9 44 4.9 0 17 0
Dameon Pierce 8.6 3 6 2.0 0 4 0
Robert Woods 4.1 1 7 7.0 0 7 0
Dare Ogunbowale 0.6 1 6 6.0 0 6 0
Receiving
Cleveland Browns
Player Fantasy Tgt Rec Yds YPT YPR TD
Amari Cooper 54.5 15 11 265 17.7 24.1 2
David Njoku 16.4 9 6 44 4.9 7.3 1
Kareem Hunt 9.6 4 2 5 1.2 2.5 0
Jerome Ford 9.3 2 1 -2 -1.0 -2.0 0
Elijah Moore 3.9 4 2 19 4.8 9.5 0
Jordan Akins 3.8 2 2 18 9.0 9.0 0
Cedric Tillman 3.3 2 2 13 6.5 6.5 0
Pierre Strong Jr. 2.2 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
Harrison Bryant 1.6 1 1 6 6.0 6.0 0
David Bell 1.6 2 1 6 3.0 6.0 0
Marquise Goodwin 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
Houston Texans
Player Fantasy Tgt Rec Yds YPT YPR TD
Dalton Schultz 14.1 11 8 61 5.5 7.6 0
Nico Collins 13.8 6 4 18 3.0 4.5 1
Devin Singletary 9.3 3 3 19 6.3 6.3 0
Andrew Beck 8.6 2 2 6 3.0 3.0 1
Dameon Pierce 8.6 2 1 10 5.0 10.0 0
Noah Brown 6.8 7 3 38 5.4 12.7 0
Brevin Jordan 4.7 3 2 27 9.0 13.5 0
Robert Woods 4.1 6 2 14 2.3 7.0 0
Xavier Hutchinson 2.8 2 1 18 9.0 18.0 0
Dare Ogunbowale 0.6 3 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
John Metchie III 0.0 3 0 0 0.0 0.0 0
Safety worth way more than 2 points. Help protect your family with fast, free will.
Sponsor
NFL Featured Tools
Subscriptions

Unlock the 2024 Fantasy Draft Kit, with Live Draft Assistant, Fantasy Mock Draft Sim, Rankings & PFF Grades

$24.99/mo
OR
$119.99/yr