Browns DC Jim Schwartz discusses moving on from Texans loss

The Cleveland Browns began the postseason tournament this past January responsible for what was arguably the NFL's best overall defense before sustaining a humiliating 45-14 wild-card playoff loss at the Houston Texans.

Browns defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz spoke with reporters on Thursday about moving on from that defeat.

"We looked at it a lot, and obviously, we’re a high-risk defense," Schwartz told reporters, per Ashley Bastock of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "We’re not a bend-and-don’t-break team. We put a big emphasis on making plays and being aggressive. And my biggest takeaway from that was we chased plays in that game instead of letting the plays come to us and making the plays that were there. And I thought for the most part of last year, we did a really good job of that."

The 2023 Browns finished the regular season with a record of 11-6 even though starting quarterback Deshaun Watson missed over half the campaign because of a shoulder injury. According to ESPN stats, Cleveland began the playoffs ranked first in the NFL in total defense (average of 270.2 yards allowed per game) and first in passing defense (164.7 yards surrendered per contest). Pass-rusher Myles Garrett won the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year Award in February while Schwartz was named the 2023 NFL Assistant Coach of the Year.

As Bastock notes, though, then-rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud passed for 236 yards and three touchdowns in the first half of Cleveland's postseason defeat. Houston accumulated 356 yards of total offense in what became a laugher.

"The intention by the players was good, and I won’t just put it on players," Schwartz added about the loss. "There were a couple times in there that even as a play-caller, I started pressing. The game started getting away from us a little bit and I started pressing. It’s like, 'Oh, let me dial this up, see if it ...' And, you know, a lot of times it just makes things worse. We learned a very hard lesson and we paid a dear price for that."

Schwartz and company will get to show what they learned when the Browns open the 2024 season with a home game versus quarterback Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 8.