Houston Texans third-year quarterback C.J. Stroud endured a nightmare outing during Sunday’s divisional-round playoff game at the New England Patriots, as he tossed four interceptions over the contest’s first two quarters.
Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman was calling the matchup for ESPN/ABC. Following Houston’s 28-16 loss to New England, Aikman sounded alarms about where Stroud seems to be at this point in his career.
Troy Aikman concerned about C.J. Stroud’s lack of development
“[Texans head coach] DeMeco Ryans and [general manager] Nick Caserio, they’ve got some tough decisions they gotta make about this team on the offensive side of the ball,” Aikman explained, per Kristen Wong of Sports Illustrated. “They replaced Bobby Slowik last year, after his two years as the offensive coordinator. C.J. Stroud has been chasing his rookie success for the last two years. He’s not been the same player. We’ve not seen the development from him. There’s a reason for that, and it has to be addressed.”
The second overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft, Stroud earned Offensive Rookie of the Year Award honors for his debut pro campaign. He seemingly has regressed since then, however, and one couldn’t be blamed for thinking the moments were too big for him during the ongoing postseason tournament.
While Houston earned a 30-6 wild-card playoff victory at the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 12, Stroud became the first player since New York Giants legend Eli Manning (2007 regular season) to win a game with five fumbles. Stroud lost two lost fumbles and threw an interception versus Pittsburgh.
In short, there are reasons to fear his rough day at New England’s Gillette Stadium wasn’t a one-off.
Joe Buck: C.J. Stroud missed open throws vs. Patriots
Per DJ Bien-Aime of ESPN, Ryans said after Sunday’s loss that “C.J. is our guy.” ESPN’s Joe Buck, Aikman’s commentary partner, suggested that the Texans may need to think twice about being all-in on Stroud during the offseason.
“He missed some open throws tonight, turned the ball over a lot again, which is what he did in Pittsburgh,” Buck added about Stroud. “This was not a good performance.”
Outside of making a blockbuster trade, it’s unlikely the Texans would be able to land an advertised upgrade over Stroud this spring. That said, one wonders if Caserio will make some calls regarding such a transaction before the 2026 draft gets underway.