To say Saturday’s AFC Wild Card game did not go the way NFL Network’s experts expected would be an understatement.
The Cleveland Browns were obliterated by the Houston Texans Saturday, with Houston jumping out to a 45-14 lead early in the fourth quarter. Houston’s offense moved the ball at will against the vaunted Cleveland defense, and the Texans also capitalized with a pair of pick sixes.
That prompted an image of NFL Network’s pregame picks to go viral. All six of the network’s analysts had bought into the Joe Flacco redemption arc and picked Cleveland to win on the road.
Wow the NFL Network went 6-6 on the game picks 😂 https://t.co/AiN2vaaFgA pic.twitter.com/Z58Iu5fL6C
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 13, 2024
In fairness, the Browns did win at Houston 36-22 in Week 16, and that likely influenced some of these picks. Still, it is quite remarkable that not a single expert saw fit to pick Houston at home, especially since the Texans followed that loss with back-to-back wins to clinch the AFC South.
The Texans can take solace in the fact that a lot of people keep underestimating them. Those opinions are going to change as long as they keep winning.
