ESPN analyst Troy Aikman said it’s time for the Texans to address “some tough decisions” regarding their stagnant quarterback, C.J. Stroud, after he threw four interceptions in the first half of Sunday’s divisional round loss to the Patriots.
While Houston was down 28-16 with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, Aikman explained that Stroud hasn’t developed since he was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and made the Pro Bowl in 2023.
“I will say this, Joe. [Coach] DeMeco Ryans and [GM] Nick Caserio, they’ve got some tough decisions they gotta make about this team on the offensive side of the ball,” Aikman said on the broadcast.
“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.”
In his rookie season, Stroud threw for 4,108 yards with 23 touchdowns and 5 interceptions across 15 games.
The Texans went 12-5 and won their final nine games to reach the playoffs.
Houston dominated the Steelers in the wild-card round, 30-6, thanks to two defensive touchdowns. However, forcing three turnovers was not enough against New England, due in part to Stroud’s inconsistent play.
Stroud finished with 212 passing yards, one touchdown and four interceptions in the 28-16 loss at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough.
Houston was also without their two top pass catchers, Dalton Schultz (calf) and Nico Collins (concussion).
“I feel like I let people down,” Stroud said afterward. “I’m not happy with that. It hurts. I’m not used to it.”
Ryans told Stroud at halftime to keep his “head up.”
“Keep your head up. I love you. Like, I got your back. And that’s what I told him at halftime,” Ryans said of his message to Stroud. “This whole team has your back. Like, we’re in this thing together, from day one. It doesn’t change for me.”
Ryans made it clear that he never considered making a change at quarterback at halftime.
“No, C.J.’s our guy,” Ryans said. “I believed that he could come back out in the 2nd half and flip it and I believed he could play better and he did that in the second half. He did play better. We had some positive drives there in the second half, because I believed that he would do that, and he did that.
“And as I always tell our guys at halftime, it really, it doesn’t matter what happened in the first half: you have to flush it, remove it, and you just have to go out and finish the right way. We’ve been there before. We’ve been in situations much more dire than this, and we were able to bounce back. So, you know, in my mind, there was no doubt in my mind that we would be able to overcome that.”
Stroud threw for 3,041 yards with 19 touchdowns and 8 interceptions in 14 regular-season games in 2025.
The Patriots (16-3) advanced to the AFC title game for the first time in seven years.
They will play the Broncos (15-3) in Denver on Sunday, Jan. 25.
