C.J. Stroud Takes Blame for Texans' NFL Playoff Loss After 4 Interceptions vs. Patriots

The Houston Texans' season is over after a disastrous performance from quarterback C.J. Stroud in the divisional round against the New England Patriots.

Stroud, who threw four interceptions in the loss, took the blame afterwards.

"I let people down and that hurts," he told reporters. "I take full responsibility."

His head coach, DeMeco Ryans, offered the young quarterback support after the tough night.

Stroud finished the 28-16 loss with 212 yards, a touchdown and four interceptions, all of which came in the first half. Stroud is just the fourth quarterback this century to throw four interceptions in the first half of a playoff game.

One of his interceptions was a pick-six that gave the Patriots a 14-10 lead.

Stroud Throws UGLY Pick-6 🫨

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Despite a bad start for Stroud, Ryans revealed after the game that he never considered benching him for backup quarterback Davis Mills.

"C.J. is our guy," he told reporters. "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."

After a rough ending to his third NFL season, the 2026 campaign will be pivotal for Stroud. He's entering the final year of his rookie contract—though the Texans have a club option for 2027—and he's hoping to earn a big extension.

The former Rookie of the Year is plenty capable of hanging around in the NFL, but he still has plenty to prove before getting a big extension.