The NFL postseason is upon us and Super Wild Card Weekend gets underway with a couple of hot matchups on Saturday. Getting the NFL playoffs underway will be the Cleveland Browns taking on the Houston Texans. It will be the old era going up against the new era as Joe Flacco looks to lead the Browns past a Texans team led by plucky rookie quarterback CJ Stroud. After that, we have the Miami Dolphins making the trip to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs in a matchup that is currently forecast to be obscenely cold. We’ve created an NFL parlay featuring both those games that pays at +700 odds with'FanDuel Sportsbook. Let’s dive in, but make sure you also check out our'NFL picks for every game throughout the postseason, especially after our experts finished the regular season up +47.9 units.
Cleveland Browns -6.5 over Houston Texans (+190)
The Texans were able to secure the AFC South title last week after edging the Colts and seeing the Jaguars lose to the Titans, and although it’s been a spectacular first season for DeMeco Ryans, Houston’s postseason journey looks set to end this weekend against the Browns. Cleveland went 11-6 this season despite losing its starting quarterback and running back early in the season, and much of their success has been down to a relentless defensive unit. The majority of the Browns defense was able to sit out Week 18 against the Bengals and should therefore be healthy and ready to go.
While Stroud and this Texans team has been impressive at times, they have also stumbled when coming up against other top defenses (they generated just 135 total yards of offense and scored 6 points against the Jets last month). Cleveland also beat Houston 36-22 on Christmas Eve, and although they played that game without Stroud, it was a phenomenal performance from Flacco that really helped the Browns secure such a big win. Cleveland has impressed me all season and, even though they’re on the road, I like them to put in a comprehensive performance against the Texans.
Check out our full Cleveland Browns vs Houston Texans predictions