The NFL playoffs will start on Saturday afternoon when the Cleveland Browns travel to Houston, Texas to face the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium with the game scheduled to start at 4:30 PM ET and will air on NBC and the Peacock App.

Cleveland finished the regular season with a record of 11-6 and in 2^nd place in the AFC North while having won four of their last five games but are coming off a 14-31 loss on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals which also ended their four-game winning streak. The success of the Browns this season can be attributed to the running offense as they enter this game averaging 118.65 rushing yards per game which ranks 12^th in the league and have been an above-average scoring team as they enter this game averaging 23.29 points per game which is tied for 10^th in the league. 

Defensively, the Browns have also been an above-average scoring defense as they are allowing an average of 21.29 points per game which is below the league average of 21.77 points per game. The Cleveland Browns will look to bounce back following the loss on the road against the Bengals and advance to the Divisional round of the playoffs when they travel to face the Houston Texans.

The Houston Texans made the playoffs by winning the AFC South and finishing with a record of 10-7 while having won three of their last four games and are on a two-game winning streak following Week 18’s 23-19 win on the road against the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans had the 2^nd worst record in the league last season and went from last place in the division to winning the division while C.J. Stroud played a pivotal role in the success of Houston this season as he was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL entering this game having completed 319 of 499 attempts for 4,108 yards with 23 touchdowns and five touchdowns while rushing for 167 yards and three touchdowns. 

Houston was also one of the better defensive teams in the NFL as they are allowing an average of 20.76 points per game which ranks 11^th in the league. The Houston Texans will look to advance to the Divisional Round of the AFC Playoffs when they host the Cleveland Browns on Saturday afternoon.

BookMaker has the Cleveland Browns listed as 2.5-point favorites on the road against the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round of the AFC Playoffs. The teams are 5-5 in the last ten while Cleveland has won the previous four meetings. The Texans are 7-3 ATS in the last ten while the Browns are 2-1 ATS in the last three games in the series. The Cleveland Browns are 10-6-1 ATS overall, 2-5-1 ATS on the road, and 7-2 ATS as a favorite this season while the Houston Texans are 9-8 ATS overall, 4-5 ATS at home, and 6-3 ATS as an underdog on the year.

Cleveland and Houston enter this game with identical records of 10-7, however, Cleveland has won the previous four meetings in the series and has been the slightly better team at covering the spread this season with a record of 10-6-1 ATS overall and 7-2 ATS as a favorite while the Texans are 9-8 ATS overall and 4-5 ATS at home. Buy the .5 point and lay the points with the Cleveland Browns when they travel to face the Houston Texans.