Joe Flacco’s storybook regular season hit a postseason obstacle against the Texans defense. 

The 38-year-old quarterback, who was signed to the Browns’ practice squad in November and went 4-1 as a starter to close the regular season, tossed consecutive pick-sixes late in the third quarter of their wild-card game against Houston — turning two possessions that started with a chance to trim a double-digit deficit into drives that ended with points for the Texans.

Flacco’s ninth and 10th interceptions since joining the Browns helped sink Cleveland in their 45-14 loss, as his 307 yards and one touchdown couldn’t provide enough scoring to keep pace with the AFC South champions.

Cleveland had already trailed the Texans by 10 behind C.J. Stroud’s strong postseason debut, but after the returns from Steven Nelson and Christian Harris, their deficit ballooned to 38-14.

Flacco’s first pick-six occurred with just over six minutes remaining in the third quarter, when he wanted to throw the ball away.

But he was hit while releasing the ball, and Nelson ended up snagging it and weaving 82 yards down the field.

“You’re trying to throw a ball away,” Flacco told reporters when asked about the first interception. “You’re not trying to make a bad decision, but at the end of the day, you have to be able to live with sacks.”

Then, three snaps later, with Cleveland facing a fourth-and-2 from its own 33-yard line, Harris jumped in front of a throw intended for tight end Harrison Bryant — sprinting the next 36 yards untouched into the end zone. 

Cleveland didn’t score after Kareem Hunt’s touchdown reception gave them a 14-10 lead early in the second quarter.

Flacco had thrown eight interceptions across his five regular-season starts when he stabilized the Browns’ quarterback situation as their latest starter in 2023.

Deshaun Watson had suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.

They also started Dorian Thompson-Robinson, P.J. Walker and Jeff Driskel during the regular season, but after Flacco took over, Cleveland topped 30 points in three games and overcame the absence of star running back Nick Chubb — who tore his MCL in September.

When the Browns initially signed Flacco to their practice squad, it wasn’t clear what he could add to their offense, especially since other teams — including the Jets — passed on the opportunity to secure him.

Flacco provided enough of a spark to secure the Browns’ postseason spot, but the Texans extinguished that Saturday.

“Usually the further you go, the more heartbreak there is, just from my experience,” Flacco said. “It’s a lot of fun along the way, but if you do get beat, it’s hard to deal with.”