HOUSTON — After the Browns’ blistering 36-22 victory over the Texans on Christmas Eve, coach DeMeco Ryans lamented the fact that his defense gave Joe Flacco all day to throw, and aims to change that during Saturday’s wild card game.

Flacco threw for 368 yards and three TDs, and Amari Cooper set a club record with 265 receiving yards, including a 53-yarder on the opening play, and a 75-yard TD. He also caught a 7-yard TD. pass.

“When you don’t get pressure on the quarterback — no matter who’s out there — it’s gonna be a long day,” Ryans said after that game. “So for Flacco, he had a really good day vs. us. We didn’t pressure him at all. He stood back in the pocket, he had all day to throw the football, and we weren’t where we’re supposed to be in coverage.”

It’ll be easier to bring the heat with the Texans’ two starting edge rushers on the field this game. Jonathan Greenard, who leads the team with 12.5 sacks, left that game early with a sprained ankle and hasn’t played since. First-round pick Will Anderson Jr., who’s second on the team with seven sacks, sat out his second straight game vs. the Browns with an ankle injury.

But both players returned to practice Thursday on a limited basis after missing Tuesday and Wednesday, and both are expected to play despite being listed as questionable.

“I’m excited, really excited to get (the) first playoff game, get back with the boys, understanding what’s at stake and understanding we have a huge opportunity in front of us,” Greenard said Thursday, via Aaron Wilson of KPRC2. “Felt really good. I’ve been out for a little bit, but not too long. Just getting back in the swing of stuff. Felt pretty good. Saturday going to be good to go.”

Flacco, who’s thrown for 300 yards in four straight games, isn’t overly concerned with how Ryans will change it up.

“We’ll have our plan and as long as we execute our plan, then all that stuff will kind of fall into place,” he said Tuesday. “When you play in this league, a lot of these games come down to getting pressure on the quarterback and there’s multiple ways to do that. Do you do that with your front? Do you do that by bringing linebackers, by bringing secondary guys? So we’ll see. Our offensive line has done a great job since I’ve been here.

“There are going to be times where teams come try to pressure you and those usually lead to opportunities if you’re on top of your stuff.”

Let guard Joel Bitonio knows it will be a different game with the two edge rushers on hand, and other defenders who sat out the first meeting. Starting strongside linebacker Blake Cashman also sat out that game, and two starting defensive backs left with injuries in Steve Nelson and Jimmie Ward.

“Those guys (Greenard and Anderson) are two pretty elite athletes,” Bitonio said. “We didn’t see Will last time and he’s been kind of slowly building back up, but we know he has elite traits and he’s powerful and condenses the pocket and then they’ve made plays for each other. I think their interior guys are very disruptive too, and so it kind of just feeds off each other, but if they play, it’s more weapons that we have to account for and they’re talented guys.”

Flacco wasn’t sacked in the first meeting, and Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who replaced Flacco in the fourth quarter, was sacked once.

“Those are great players for them,” Van Pelt said. “We didn’t see Greenard last time. He left early in that game, but we know what he brings. His productivity has been outstanding this year. And Anderson’s an extremely talented pass rusher as well. Their strength is upfront in their D-line. We feel that’s a good challenge. So, I hope they’re healthy. We hope we get them at their best.”

The Browns won’t do anything differently with the two premier edge rushers coming back.

“We go through our blitz meetings and our blitz pickup responsibilities and then we walk through it,” Van Pelt said. “So, nothing will change for us in our process.”