Across The Shield: C.J. Stroud Has Record-Setting Playoff Debut, Taylor Decker Finally Experiences Playoff Glory and Nine Buckeyes Will Play in Divisional Round

After leading the NFL with 273.9 passing yards per game and a 23-to-5 touchdown-to-interception ratio during the regular season, Stroud threw for 274 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions to lead the Houston Texans to a 45-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

Stroud could have put up bigger numbers if the game hadn’t become so lopsided, as he attempted only five passes after halftime and did not play on either of the Texans’ final two drives. He completed 11 of 16 passes for 236 yards and three touchdowns in the first half alone, breaking the record for the most first-half passing yards by a rookie quarterback in a playoff game.

Seventy-six of those yards came on his second touchdown pass when tight end Brevin Jordan took a short play-action rollout throw from Stroud to the house.

BREVIN JORDAN FOR 76 YARDS.

PLAYOFF FOOTBALL IS BACK.

: #CLEvsHOU on NBC
: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/jM781VisSx pic.twitter.com/TYJge0SGrj

— NFL (@NFL) January 13, 2024

Stroud’s best throw of the day came on his third touchdown when he connected with Dalton Schultz on a deep ball for a 37-yard score.

AIR IT OUT pic.twitter.com/NjLQxykfDa

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) January 13, 2024

Stroud’s three touchdown passes tied the single-game record for the most passing touchdowns by a rookie in an NFL playoff game. His 157.2 passer rating against the Browns is the best ever for a rookie who threw at least 20 passes in a playoff game.

At just 22 years and 102 days old, Stroud became the youngest starting quarterback to win an NFL playoff game.

His performance was easily the best in an NFL playoff game by a quarterback who finished his collegiate career at Ohio State. Excluding Joe Burrow, no quarterback from Ohio State had ever thrown for more than 205 yards or one touchdown (both Mike Tomczak) in an NFL playoff game.

Just the third player from Ohio State to ever start an NFL playoff game at quarterback along with Tomczak and Tom Matte, Stroud earned our Pro Buck of the Week award for the fourth time this year as Ohio State’s top NFL performer in the wild card round.

The Texans didn’t need Cameron Johnston to punt much against the Browns, but he was effective when called upon, averaging 46 yards per punt with three punts downed inside the 20-yard line, including two inside the 10-yard line.

Noah Brown suffered a shoulder injury on the Texans’ opening drive and did not return to action. The Texans placed Brown on injured reserve Monday, which means he will be unable to return for the rest of the playoffs.

On the other side of the outcome, it was a rough end to Ronnie Hickman’s rookie season as he was beaten deep multiple times. He got bailed out by a Stroud overthrow on what would have been a 59-yard touchdown pass to Nico Collins, but got burned again on the aforementioned touchdown pass to Schultz.

Here is my professional opinion: Bobby Slowik and C.J. Stroud have Ronnie Hickman in hell pic.twitter.com/N8fflXtQeP

— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) January 13, 2024

Despite the disappointing result, Hickman and fellow Browns rookie Luke Wypler – who was inactive for the game – were first in line to congratulate their former Ohio State teammate Stroud after the game. Both of them shared a moment with Stroud on the field, with Wypler telling Stroud to “go win it all.”

Decker earns long-awaited playoff win

Two weeks after falling victim to the most controversial call of the NFL season, Taylor Decker was on the wrong end of another officiating error on Sunday.

Late in the first half, Decker was called for a false start before moving before the snap. Replay review, however, clearly showed that a Los Angeles Rams player entered the neutral zone first, which should have resulted in a first down for the Detroit Lions rather than a penalty against Decker that forced them to punt the ball away.

This was called a false start on the Lions but it should have been a neutral zone infraction. #LARvsDET pic.twitter.com/NawqfJL2ll

— Rate the Refs App (@Rate_the_Refs) January 15, 2024

Fortunately for Decker and the Lions, the penalty didn’t end up changing the outcome of the game like it did when his two-point conversion was taken off the board two weeks earlier against the Dallas Cowboys. Detroit defeated the Rams, 24-23, to earn its first playoff win in 32 years.

Decker helped lead the Lions to a hot start offensively as they scored touchdowns on each of their first three possessions of the game, and the Lions held onto the lead the rest of the way.

The left tackle from Ohio State, who has been with the Lions since they drafted him with the No. 16 overall pick in 2016, was emotional after the game as he soaked in the first playoff win of his NFL career.

“There were a lot of peaks and a lot more valleys on this journey, and sometimes, those times can be hard. But it makes it all worth it having an opportunity like this,” Decker told NFL Network’s Bridget Condon.

Longest-tenured Lion, Taylor Decker, emotional after Detroit's first playoff win since the 1991 season. #OnePride @NFLGameDay @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/QFsyX7qCSS

— Bridget Condon (@BridgetCondon_) January 15, 2024

The victory also carried special meaning for former Ohio State long snapper Jake McQuaide, who – like Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who he shared a celebratory moment with after the game – previously played for the Rams.

People arent talking enough about long snapper Jake McQuaide getting a win against his former team. pic.twitter.com/zF9N2BemaC

— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2024

Nine Buckeyes will play in divisional round

While there were 19 players from Ohio State on the 53-man rosters of NFL playoff teams entering the playoffs, that number has already been cut by more than half after the wild card round.

Nine Buckeyes were on teams that were eliminated during the first round of the playoffs, while Noah Brown is no longer on the Houston Texans’ 53-man roster since he was placed on injured reserve. That leaves nine Buckeyes who will be on the field playing in the divisional round of the playoffs next weekend.

Three of them will play their first games of this postseason as Malik Harrison’s Baltimore Ravens and Nick Bosa and Chase Young’s San Francisco 49ers host divisional round games on Saturday, while Stroud and Johnston’s Texans and Josh Myers’ Green Bay Packers will look to keep their playoff runs going.

The Lions trio of Decker, McQuaide and Jonah Jackson will be the only Buckeyes in action on Sunday as none of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs have any former Ohio State players on their roster.

The full game schedule for the divisional round:

Saturday

• 4:30 p.m., ESPN: No. 1 Baltimore Ravens (Malik Harrison) vs. No. 4 Houston Texans (C.J. Stroud, Cameron Johnston)
• 8 p.m., FOX: No. 1 San Francisco 49ers (Nick Bosa, Chase Young) vs. No. 7 Green Bay Packers (Josh Myers)

Sunday

• 3 p.m., NBC: No. 3 Detroit Lions (Taylor Decker, Jonah Jackson, Jake McQuaide) vs. No. 4 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (None)
• 6:30 p.m., CBS: No. 2 Buffalo Bills (None) vs. No. 3 Kansas City Chiefs (None)

Quick Hits

• Eli Apple finished the season with five tackles, including a tackle for loss, in the Miami Dolphins’ 26-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Apple was the only Buckeye to play in that game as Jerome Baker was placed on injured reserve before the game with a season-ending wrist injury.

Not gonna pass by @EliApple #KCvsMIA
: @ESPNAfrica
: @NFLonDAZN pic.twitter.com/PeH1GFyPgL

— NFL Africa (@NFLAfrica) January 14, 2024

• Cameron Heyward recorded six tackles with a tackle for loss in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season-ending loss to the Buffalo Bills.
• Jordan Fuller was inactive for the Rams’ loss to the Lions due to an ankle injury.

Full stats for every former Ohio State player who played in the wild card round can be found in the table below compiled by Eleven Warriors researcher Matt Gutridge. (Note: The table only includes players who finished their collegiate careers at Ohio State.)