Texans QB C.J. Stroud throws 3rd first-half TD pass vs. Browns

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud hit Nico Collins, Brevin Jordan and Dalton Schultz for big first-half touchdown passes.

C.J. Stroud is dealing in his first playoff game. The Houston Texans rookie quarterback hit tight end Dalton Schultz late in the second quarter for his third passing touchdown of the first half.

Stroud hit Schultz on a nice 37-yard pass into the endzone for the score, which put Houston up 24-14 with less than two minutes left in the half.

Stroud hit wide receiver Nico Collins in the first quarter on a 15-yard touchdown and then tight end Brevin Jordan took a short pass 76-yards for Stroud’s second touchdown.

The Texans defense stopped the Cleveland Browns on the ensuing possession to go into halftime with the 10-point lead.

Stroud finished the first half with 236 passing yards on 11-of-16 passes. That yardage is only 96 away from the wild card passing yards record for a rookie, which was set by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy this past season, per NFL Research, and 149 yards away from the rookie playoff record set by Russell Wilson for the Seattle Seahawks in 2013.