On paper, the first clash in the wildcard playoffs might not read as the treat of the weekend. But the quarterback duel alone is worth tuning in for! Comment.

The Cleveland Browns and Houston Texans open the wildcard round of the NFL playoffs on Saturday. A duel that hardly anyone would have had on their radar before the season.

But both teams have fought their way into the playoffs and have been able to rely on their quarterbacks in particular, making this duel the coolest of the weekend.

Firstly, there was Joe Flacco. He has won 18 of 21 games against the Browns in his career and has been a thorn in Cleveland’s side for years. But now he is on a bed of roses. At 38 years old, the Browns are bringing him out of interim football retirement, where he’s running at full speed just in time for the playoffs.

Joe Flacco shows his qualities

He is not being carried by his circumstances – like many an ageing quarterback in the past. Quite the opposite: Flacco slams the football into tight passing windows regardless of losses, constantly takes risks and clearly has fun doing it

In the last four games of the regular season, he always cracked 300 passing yards and threw eleven touchdowns. The seven interceptions are carefully swept under the carpet at this point.

“I’m just lucky to be a part of this team,” an emotional Flacco told NFL insider Mike Garafolo after the Browns punched their playoff ticket.

And by the way, cheering for Flacco and his story is more enjoyable than watching Deshaun Watson’s numerous missteps off the field.

Stroud continues to make history

However, Flacco’s counterpart can also look back on a successful first season with his franchise. Rookie C.J. Stroud has quickly become the face of the Texans’ athletic rise, pulverizing rookie records in a row and can now refine his first season in the playoffs.

With his humorless, hard-nosed style of play, the 22-year-old could appear as the antagonist in the next Tarantino film.

So when the football flies through the air at 10:30pm on Saturday, it will be worth tuning in. Perhaps the most surprising, but definitely the coolest playoff game of the weekend.