With Cleveland trailing Houston 31-14 in the third quarter, coach Kevin Stefanski decided to go for it on fourth-and-2 at the Browns 33-yard line. But the decision backfired when Texans linebacker Christian Harris intercepted quarterback Joe Flacco’s pass to tight end Harrison Bryant and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown.

As Houston went on to win the AFC first-round playoff game 45-14, it was almost as though Harris knew what was coming.

Well, he kind of did.

Texans coach DeMeco Ryans had gone over what was going to happen – one former Alabama linebacker to another – before sending Harris out on the field.

Ryans said the play was one that Harris would remember for the rest of his life.

“Christian’s been locked in all week,” Ryans said after the playoff victory. “It’s a special moment for me because just seeing Christian and seeing his growth week after week after week and see him make that play. I talked about that this week actually. We talked about that play where he missed it a couple of games ago. He just broke it up on fourth down. And he had the opportunity to step in front of it and pick it this time, and he did it.”

In Houston’s 26-3 victory over Tennessee on Dec. 31, Harris got his hands on quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s fourth-and-goal pass to tight end Chig Okonkwo with the Titans at the Texans 3-yard line, but he couldn’t hold on for his second NFL interception.

“I was just trying to do my job,” Harris said after the playoff victory. “The opportunity presented itself a couple of weeks ago, and I dropped it, so it was the same situation. I just had to make the opportunity.”

Harris is in his second season with the Texans after joining the team in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

In Harris’ rookie season, Houston posted a 3-13-1 record. But in Ryans’ first season as a head coach, the Texans went 10-7 and won the AFC South.

“DeMeco’s a great coach,” Harris said. “He’s been helping us every single way possible in and out. And I think just keeping our faith, believing. I think us just believing in ourselves, everybody in that locker room. We have everything we need.”

During the 2023 regular season, Harris finished second on the Texans in tackles with 101 and led Houston in solo stops with 65. Against Cleveland, he made eight tackles (seven solo), including a sack after recording two sacks during the regular season.

Harris became the seventh player to record a pick-six and a sack in the same playoff game and the first to do so since Texans defensive end J.J Watt in a 31-10 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 7, 2012.

“He played a lot of football at Alabama,” Houston general manager Nick Caserio said of Harris on Tuesday. “He was fast. He was explosive. He could close space. And he went through some growing pains the first few years. Really, I think his production and performance, it’s a credit to the coaches and the time they invested, from Coach Kif (linebackers coach Chris Kiffin), I’d say DeMeco’s a huge part of that as well.

“And Christian has just grown in his development. Christian cares a lot about football. He’s one of those players when you look at their notebook, he takes copious notes. And he understands football, and he wants to be good. He wants to be great, and you’ve seen him be able to improve some areas, some areas that we’ve asked him to improve. And then he’s gone out there and he’s made plays, so anytime you make plays, you get positive reinforcement, and it says you’re doing the right thing.

“He’s probably one of the most athletic players on the team when you go in the weight room and look at some of his measurements and his metrics and his jumps and other things. He stands out above just about anybody, so he’s always had that. Now you’re putting it together in terms of overall understanding.”

The victory over the Browns moved Houston into a Divisional Weekend matchup with the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The Baltimore Ravens enter the postseason after their first-round bye.

The Texans and Ravens square off at 3:30 p.m. CST Saturday at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. ABC and ESPN will televise the game.

Houston has never advanced past the divisional round but needs to win on Saturday to avoid ending the season the way it began – with a loss to the Ravens. On Sept. 10, Baltimore beat the Texans 25-9.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.