The AFC Divisional Round is set for Saturday between the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens.
If the Texans can pull out a win, multiple records could be broken at the game.
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With a win on Saturday, it would mark the Texans first-ever win in the divisional round and DeMeco Ryans would become the first rookie head coach to advance to a conference championship game since Matt LaFleur in 2019 with the Green Bay Packers.
Ryans has already made the Texans the fourth team in NFL history to win a playoff game with a rookie head coach with their victory over the Cleveland Browns. They joined the 1945 Los Angeles Rams, 2008 Baltimore Ravens, and 2009 New York Jets. If the Texans win Saturday, they will join the 2008 Ravens and 2009 Jets as the only teams in NFL history to win two playoff games with a rookie quarterback and first-year head coach.
Texans’ quarterback C.J. Stroud will be watched closely as well as he could break more records. In the AFC Wild Card game against the Cleveland Browns, Stroud completed 16 of 21 passes for 274 yards, three touchdowns, and a 157.2 passer rating. Stroud (4,382) surpassed Justin Herbert (4,360) for the second-most passing yards ever by a rookie, including the postseason. If Stroud throws for 281 passing yards in Saturday’s game, he would break the NFL rookie record for most passing yards, including the postseason in NFL history. He would surpass Andrew Luck, who had 4,682 yards in 2012.
But that’s not all Stroud could do on Saturday. If Stroud makes three touchdown passes in the game, he would surpass Mark Sanchez for the most postseason touchdown passes by a rookie. He could also join Scott Brunner (1981) as the only two players ever with at least three touchdown passes in each of their first two career playoff games. These are just a few of the things Stroud could pull off on Saturday.
DE Will Anderson Jr. could also make history. If Anderson can make a sack in the game, he would become the fifth rookie since 2016 to record at least one sack in two consecutive playoff games.
The Texans already made history in the playoffs in their game against the Cleveland Browns. In that game, they became the seventh team in NFL history to record multiple interception return touchdowns in a game and the first team to do so since the Seattle Seahawks on Jan. 15, 2008.