Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud had a terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad first half Sunday. It was one of the worst first halves of a playoff game ever, as Stroud threw four interceptions, including a pick-six.
The Texans had Davis Mills sitting on the bench.
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Mills was 3-0 as a starter in place of an injured Stroud this season, throwing five touchdowns and an interception.
Yet, DeMeco Ryans said he never considered making a change at quarterback.
«C.J. is our guy,» Ryans said, via a postgame transcript. «I believed that he could come back out in the second half and flip it. I believed that he could play better, and he did that in the second half. He did play better. We had some positive drives in the second half. I believed that he would do that, and he did that. As I always tell our guys at halftime: 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.»
Stroud didn’t have any turnovers in the second half, but he was only 10-of-21 for 88 yards. It wasn’t good enough for the Texans to overcome the 21-10 halftime deficit because of Stroud’s play.
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The Texans now have a decision about Stroud’s future: Is he their franchise quarterback? The first decision is whether to exercise his fifth-year option for 2027, and then, at some point, they’ll have to decide on his long-term future. Stroud is eligible for a contract extension this offseason, but seven turnovers in two playoff games should give the Texans pause.
As ESPN analyst Troy Aikman said during the broadcast, «CJ 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.»
