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5 Browns Most to Blame for Wild Card Collapse Against Texans

Losing like the Browns did takes a full team effort, but some people carry a lot more blame than others in a blowout like that.

By Jason Schandl

Nov 12, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Browns offensive tackle James Hudson III (66)
Nov 12, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Cleveland Browns offensive tackle James Hudson III (66) / Jessica Rapfogel-USA TODAY Sports
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2. Greg Newsome

Based on what comes up when you do a quick Twitter search for Greg Newsome's name, no Browns fan needs me to tell them just how bad he was.

Newsome couldn't cover anyone. He couldn't lock anyone down 1-on-1 on the outside. He couldn't keep up with anyone in the slot. He couldn't tackle. He couldn't read and react to any of the Texans' misdirection plays.

This was an all-time bad performance from Newsome, capping off a wildly up-and-down season.

Two of Newsome’s best games of the year came at the end of the regular season, but this looked more like the Greg Newsome we saw against the Steelers or Broncos, not the one we saw against the Jets in Week 17.

Newsome had held opposing QBs to a 74.8 passer rating when targeted in the regular season — showing huge improvement from the marks of 85.6 and 84.6 he posted in his first two NFL seasons. But those improvements were nowhere to be seen on Saturday.

The Texans' passing attack is good, no doubt, but Greg Newsome takes a huge chunk of the blame for making C.J. Stroud look like the greatest quarterback of all time.

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