4 big takeaways from Browns win over the Texans in Week 16

The Cleveland Browns got their 10th win of the season and did so in impressive fashion. Coming into the day at just 2-4 on the road, they took it to the Houston Texans in a 36-22 blowout win. Now at 10-5 on the year, the Browns have a short week since they’ll be hosting the New York Jets on Thursday Night Football.

As they’re already prepping for that game, which will be their final home game of the season, we can take a minute to look back at their win over Houston with these three big takeaways.

4. Injuries continue to happen, but the Browns won’t quit

Throughout this season, injuries have been a concern for the Browns. They’re on their fourth quarterback of the season with Joe Flacco currently leading the way and have been without Nick Chubb since Week 2. Now, they have concerns about their special teams unit as well.

During the victory on Christmas Eve, Dustin Hopkins went out with a hamstring injury. With him sidelined, they had to go for two points following their final three touchdowns. Dorian Thompson-Robinson ran one in for two and Amari Cooper caught another. The one in-between was no good with Jerome Ford being stopped on his attempt.

Without Hopkins, there was no backup kicker but Corey Bojorquez was able to handle kickoffs. Unfortunately, he too was injured and that left D’Anthony Bell kicking the ball off for the Browns. The backup safety didn’t drill it, by any means, but still kicked the ball 42 yards when he was pressed into action.

Cleveland continued to deal with injuries at an insane level but they’re proving to be one of the more resilient teams in the league. That’s why it’s hard to ever count them out since nothing seems to dampen their confidence.

3. Browns proved they can win on the road

Coming into this game, the Browns were just 2-4 on the road this season compared to 7-1 at home. That's fine for making the playoffs but since they're not in first place in their division, winning on the road is going to be very important. As the potential No. 5 seed, they're going to be doing some traveling — assuming they do get in.

Their last two road games were against the Denver Broncos and then the Los Angeles Rams — and each were losses. To be fair, they had a shot in the Denver game until Dorian Thompson-Robinson was injured. Against the Rams, Joe Flacco was making his first start and they simply didn't have the answers for their offense late in the game.

Flacco did lead them to back-to-back wins following that loss — both at home against the Jaguars and Bears. But this weekend, they were able to drop 36 points on the road. They even did so despite losing their kicker in the first half and punter in the second.

Overcoming adversity has been their calling card this season so that wasn't a huge deal — it would be for most teams but for the 2023 Cleveland Browns, it's another day at the office. The win on the road was much larger for them. Now at 3-4, they should have more confidence if they're taking on an opposing playoff team in hostile territory. Especially considering all three wins were against playoff-caliber teams (Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, and the Texans).

2. Za’Darius Smith is a bad man

If you were to look at mere stats, it would seem as though Za’Darius Smith has been quiet in 2023. The Browns added Smith in an offseason trade with Minnesota and expectations were through the roof since he and Myles Garrett were two of just a handful of players to record at least 10 sacks three times over the past four years.

Smith entered Week 16 with just 3.5 sacks on the season and he’s expressed frustration that his numbers were this low. Still, he’s been an effective player with 25 pressures while also having an 80.4 pass rush grade according to PFF. On Sunday, however, he might have finally broken the seal.

After a sack on third down was negated by a penalty in the first half, Smith responded by ending that same drive with a third-down sack — and this time, it stood. In the second half, he recorded another, this time giving his defense some much-needed momentum. A 17-yard run from Devin Singletary moved the ball to midfield but Smith sacked Case Keenum on the next play, pushing them back 10 yards.

He continued his elite afternoon late in the third when he forced a turnover on another play that won’t go into the stat sheet — at least not for him. Following Amari Cooper’s second touchdown, the Texans were trying to get back into the game and Keenum wound up for a deep pass. His arm was hit on the way forward by Smith and the ball floated right to Duron Harmon for the Browns second interception on the day.

Smith finished with two sacks and ave the team a scare when he was hobbled at the end of the game. He seemed fine by the time he got up which is great news. He's playing at an elite level and if that keeps up, they're going to be tough to deal with.

1. Browns continue to win the Amari Cooper trade

Last year, the Dallas Cowboys foolishly traded Amari Cooper for a late-round pick. They even claimed afterward they made the right move as they were able to use that money to pay for Dalton Schultz (who is now gone and played against Cleveland this weekend for the Texans) and Michael Gallup (who has been a problem for them). They also had to pay Ezekiel Elliott for one more season before being able to move on.

The simple fact that they paid the wrong people led to Cooper joining the Browns and he will now be in their record book forever. On the opening play in Week 16, Cooper caught a 53-yarder to go over 1,000 yards on the season. He’s now the first player to ever do so in back-to-back seasons for Cleveland — and the first player since Ozzie Newsome to go over that mark more than once for the Browns.

Cooper has been insane since Joe Flacco took over, with that 53-yarder making it two weeks in a row where he hauled in a pass over 50 yards. He also made it two in a row with over 100 yards after he topped that stat when he took a deep pass in for a touchdown from 75 yards out. This time, he took it a step further, going over 200 on the day. As great as the deep receptions were, his best play was a sideline catch for 13 yards on fourth-and-eight

Ahead of the season, some fans were clamoring for another No. 1 wideout. However, Cooper continues to prove he’s a top-tier wideout, especially when there’s competent quarterback play. He finished this one with 265 yards and three touchdowns — and now has four career games with 200-plus yards. He also has the record for the most receiving yards in a game for the Browns, passing Josh Gordon.

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