Texans’ C.J. Stroud joins Eli Manning in wild NFL history that has a good Super Bowl omen originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
C.J. Stroud has to have woken up on Tuesday feeling at least a bit lucky.
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The Houston Texans’ quarterback fumbled five times on Monday night, and his squad advanced comfortably past the Pittsburgh Steelers anyway.
It’s only the second time that has ever happened, and first ever in the playoffs.
According to NFL Plus, Eli Manning had a five-fumble game that was a win back in Week 16 of the 2007 season. A few months later, Manning was Super Bowl champion for the first time.
The fumbles stat is just a tad misleading for Stroud.
First off, he recovered three of the fumbles himself. Only two were lost to the Steelers.
A couple of the fumbles also came on wonky snaps. Those are credited as Stroud fumbles, but they’re not quite the same as him being super loose with the ball and losing it because he’s being reckless.
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In a game in which the Texans’ defense dominated, Stroud made enough big throws when he had to, particularly to Christian Kirk.
Kirk had eight catches for 144 yards, more than half of Stroud’s 250 yards (21-for-32). That included a couple perfectly thrown footballs over the top for Kirk to reel in.
Houston will head to New England for the Divisional Round knowing its defense will give it a chance to upset the Patriots.
They’ll need Stroud to hold onto the ball, though. Probably best to avoid another five-fumble game anytime soon.
