Many would assume the team with the better record and the tiebreaker edge would make that team the designated home representative ahead of the NFL playoffs.
The Cleveland Browns hold that edge over the Houston Texans. Cleveland delivered both the better record at 11-6 overall and defeated Houston on Christmas Eve pretty handily — 36-22.
Yet, this game will be played outside of the 67,000-seat Cleveland Browns Stadium venue. Instead, both teams will head to NRG Stadium to kick off the 2023-24 NFL postseason.
Why the Texans, Not the Browns, Are Hosting
Houston is entering this upcoming game as the AFC South champions. Cleveland, meanwhile, took second in the AFC North division.
The way the NFL playoffs are structured, the top four seeds in each conference are reserved for division winners. All four division-winning teams are then rewarded a home game to kick off the playoffs.
Even though the Texans have a worse record (10-7) than the Browns (11-6), Houston still won a competitive and down-to-the-wire AFC South race. They had to hold off the Indianapolis Colts in Week 18 to seal the division.
By securing the division crown, the Texans have earned the right to host a playoff game. By failing to win their division, the Browns hold the top Wild Card spot in the AFC as the conference’s No. 5 seed and will, thus, travel to Houston for the postseason’s opening round.
With that said, there have been multiple instances when the team with a better record traveled to open their run to the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Notable Postseason Games Where Team With Better Record Travelled
It’s the second straight season the AFC South representative will be hosting a team with a better record.
In last year’s playoffs, the Jacksonville Jaguars, at 9-8, hosted the 10-7 Los Angeles Chargers. The rest of the night saw an epic comeback with the Jags down by 27-points to snatch the 31-30 upset.
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The NFC featured a very one-sided contest when it came to win/loss records last year. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, at 8-9, managed to host the 12-5 Dallas Cowboys. Again, the Bucs earned the home game by winning the NFC South.
Still, that pairing proved to be lopsided. Dallas rolled to a 31-14 rout in what became seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady’s final game.
Browns Are in Familiar Spot From Last Playoff Appearance
While the Browns are forced to travel, they are in familiar territory compared to their last playoff appearance.
During the 2020 playoffs, Cleveland was the road team when they traveled to the Steel City to take on the rival Pittsburgh Steelers. At 12-4, the Steelers had finished one game ahead of the Browns.
Nevertheless, Cleveland jumped on Pittsburgh early and never took their foot off the pedal — rolling to a 48-37 upset of the AFC’s No. 3 seed.
This time, despite being given the visitor’s locker room, the Browns are currently 2.5-point favorites over the Texans. They’ll be aiming to pull off one more road romp down in H-Town.
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