During team meetings earlier in the week, Brevin Jordan said the Houston Texans' coaching staff put up a stat about the Cleveland Browns.
Actually, they put up a stat about Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil and his matchups against All-Pro defensive end Myles Garrett.
Five games played, zero sacks allowed.
It was more of the same Saturday afternoon at NRG Stadium. Garrett took his stance and waited for the whistle. In retrospect, he was waiting to be taken out of the play by Tunsil just like before.
"The dude is without question the best tackle in the NFL," said Jordan following Houston's 45-14 win over the Browns.
Tunsil, who was expected to be the final piece of Houston's postseason run when acquired from Miami in 2019, eliminated Garrett. He served as the anchor on an offensive line that allowed six pressures but never a sack.
Garrett finished with three tackles and a pressure, nearly all of his reps coming against Tunsil. Most defensive linemen aren't built like Garrett.
The same could be said of offensive tackles like Tunsil.
"L.T. is different, bro," said running back Devin Singletary. "I feel like he's proven that year in and year out, week in and week out, day in and day out, even. L.T. is that dude."
Behind stable protection, C.J. Stroud delivered another must-see performance that continues to have fans pondering how he's a rookie still learning the ins and outs of the NFL. He completed 16 of 21 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns. He also had a 157.2 passer rating.
The face of the Texans franchise was nothing short of elite. Just how good was his outing against the league's top defense? Entering Saturday, only four rookie passers had thrown for over 200 yards and three touchdowns in a playoff game.
Stroud did it before halftime after tossing a 37-yard pass to Dalton Schultz, extending Houston's lead by 10.
But Stroud's highlight-filled afternoon only happened because of Tunsil and his four friends who hold the line. That almost was erased following a PAT from Ka'imi Fairbairn in the second quarter.
Tunsil remained on the ground, writhing in pain. He'd miss two series while in the medical tent, but Houston didn't miss a beat behind timely passes from Stroud and the "next man up" mentality.
"We knew [stopping Garrett] was a key to victory," said Stroud. "We had to block well up front. We did that."
Once Tunsil returned, everything went back to square one. Stroud remained untouched, and Cleveland remained frustrated. Houston ended Saturday's win on a 31-0 scoring run after Cleveland took a 14-10 lead in the second quarter.
Stroud said Tunsil was the first player to contact him after Houston drafted him in April. Early in conversations, Tunsil noticed something special in Stroud that differed from most other rookies.
Fans of Houston noticed the same thing from Week 2 on.
"That instilled a lot of confidence in me," said Stroud of his relationship with Tunsil. "He's a Pro Bowler every year. He goes against the top defensive ends and holds it down. I'm super appreciative of him."
After arriving in Houston, Tunsil transformed. He's gone from being a standout left tackle into a Pro Bowl one, earning the four starting nods over five seasons, including two in the last two seasons.
After inking a three-year extension last offseason, Tunsil is locked into Houston. Some call him the final piece of a postseason run of the Bill O'Brien era. Others could say he was the first piece to a new era off NRG Drive.
"He's done it time and time again," said Texans coach DeMeco Ryans. "He's had that matchup. He looks forward to that matchup and he stands up time and time again. He pushed through struggling, fighting after an injury and still battled. When you have a left tackle that can do that, it allows C.J. to shine."
Tunsil was voted to the Pro Bowl but was excluded from both the first and second All-Pro teams. Stroud disagreed with the assessment of Tunsil's status among voters.
"Laremy's a top player in this league," he said. "Top-five, top-three, top-two, and not two. He's a dawg."
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